​A late season opportunity to keep the live football action going before the Summer. Not only that but this wa to be my 200th different stadium visited to watch non-league football. I'm not sure how I feel about this landmark figure being reached at the home of a professional club, although it looks unlikely to be the home of Coventry City next season. In fact, at the time of writing, the entire future of The Sky Blues seems to be in doubt. A sorry state of affairs

The Background
I didn't really know a lot about the Coventry Telegraph Cup before this evening but was very pleased to find a nice piece on the history of the competiton in the match day programme. The first Coventry Challenge Cup Final was won by Leamington Town in 1893. Both of the sides in this evening's final, current holders Coventry Copsewood and Triumph Athletic, have won the cup twice under their current guises. However, once again thanks to the match day programme, it appears that Copsewood can claim 8 trophies over the years, under various names, whilst Triumph can lay claim to nine cup wins again under different names.
In this season's competition both sides began with a bye in the First Round. Coventry Copsewood then travelled to Stratford in Round Two, coming back with a resounding 5-1 victory. Triump took on another Coventry side, Alvis, beating them 1-0 at home. In Round Three Coventry Copsewood were at home to Chelmsley Town, beating them 2-1 whislt Triumph gave Whitnash a 5-1 lesson in Leamington.
In the Semi-Finals Coventry Copsewood went through with a 3-0 scoreline against Christ The King. Triumph were up against, somewhat confusingly, Copsewood (Coventry) a fellow Coventry Alliance League side. After a 1-1 draw Athletic progressed to the final with a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory.

​The Ground
Entrance to the West Stand at the Ricoh Stadium is certainly one of the more unusual approaches to a ground. Entering the main entrance to the complex from the car park, you find yourself in an atrium not dissimilar to a US style office block. A hotel and casino are off to the right hand side but, on this evening, an attendant pointed the football crowd off to the left where a table was set up to take the entrance fee and sell the programmes. From there, you walked through a door into the concessions area behind the west Stand.

The Game
The game kicked off in old-fashioned football style with both sides getting in some crunching 'let them know you're here' tackles, much to the satisfaction of the assembled crowd in the West Stand of the Ricoh.
Triumph, defying the fact that they play their league games at a step lower than their opponents, made the brighter start of the two sides, certainly for the opening two or three minutes. Having said that, they were almost caught out after 5 minutes when Copsewood's lively striker, Daniel Kavanagh shot wide. The effort seemed to wake Copsewood up and they began to get a foothold on the game. Indeed, after 8 minutes, they were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box which produced an effort no too far off target.

The pace of Kavanagh and the quick feet and trickery of Jak Redhead were causing a few problems for the Triumph defence but, on the other hand, Athletic also looked like they could pose plenty of problems at the the other end, especially with the long throw-ins from Kyle Walker, who seemed to be able to reach the penalty are from pretty much anywhere inside the Copsewood half.
Just over halfway through the first-half Copsewood were awarded another free-kick on the edge of the box. The attempt at goal was absolutely hammered and would have given the keeper no chance if it had been a foot or so lower.

Then, as the half was drawing to a close the breakthrough finally came, not for Copsewood as the balance of play would have suggested, but for Triumph. Luke Comasky chased a ball into the Copsewood penalty area and was brought down by keeper Dale O'Donnell. Nick Walker stepped up and calmly stroked home the spot-kick to give Athletic the lead. 0-1.
The response from Copsewood was almost immediate. They surged forward with some urgency, creating some havoc in the Triumph penalty area. Kavanagh was first to react to a loose ball, turning it into the net only to see the assistant's flag up for offside after the referee had already blown for the goal. Some consultation followed before the referee took the assistant's advice and cancelled out the goal. I have to say that from my position, which wasn't quite in line but wasn't too far off, Kavanagh looked to be easily onside and it looked to be a very harsh decision on Copsewood.

HT Coventry Copsewood 0 Triumph Athletic 1. A great start from Triumph countered well by Copsewood who then had the better of the half. However, Triumph took their chance and lead slightly against the run of play.

​If Kavanagh was disappointed that his name wasn't on the score sheet after the disallowed effort, he certainly didn't show it and just a few minutes into the second half it was the same player who burst through, latching onto a ball over the top of the Triumph defence before finishing powerfully past the keeper. 1-1.
Just past the hour mark Copsewood were awarded another free-kick also just outside the penalty but this time a few yards right of centre. Captain Daniel Fraser stood over it before curling in a beautiful effort which went in off the far post giving Bryce no chance whatsoever. 2-1

Triumph didn't let their heads drop after going behind but Copsewood were looking a lot more composed now. They were the current cup holders and they were clearly not going to let the trophy go easily.
With there minutes left on the clock and with Triumph pushing people forward in search of an equaliser, Kavanagh was again able to use his pace to get in behind the defence. Once again his finish was clinical, making it 3-1 and seemingly sealing the victory.
Again, great credit to Athletic though, they dusted themselves down and even with just a few minutes to go did not throw in the towel. On the 90 minute mark they got some rewards for their persistence when Owen Wassall was sent through by a delightful, clipped ball. He, in turn, applied a deft finish to make it 3-2.

As it turned out, there was not enough time for Triumph to get back on level terms despite pushing almost everyone up front for a frantic minute or so.

FT Coventry Copsewood 3 Triumph Athletic 2. Athletic played their part in an entertainign Cup Final but on the balance of the entire game Copsewood gained a thoroughly deserved victory and retained the Challenge Cup.


Coventry Copsewood: O'Donnell, Bartram, Fraser(c), Fesel, Rooney, Stringer, Dodds, Welland, Piper, Kavanagh, Redhead. Subs: Whitelaw, Rawlings, Brandish, Davies, Osborne
Triumph Athletic: Bryce, T.Atkins, Suddick, K.Walker, R.Atkins(c), Chamberlain, N.Walker, Normoyle, Comasky, Freeman, Cooper. Subs: Wassall, Barlow, Irwin, Budd, Fletcher
Att:
Ground Number: 200
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: £1.00

As I was already in the Midlands on Tuesday, it seemed like a reasonable idea to head over to Walsall in the evening to take in the final of the Les James Challenge Cup, being played at Walsall's Banks's Stadium.

The Background
A little pre-match research showed that, of the two sides, it was Knowle who had the greater pedigree in the competition, although it had been a while since they manged to take the trophy home. In the 1996-97 season they had won the cup 5-4 on penalties after drawing 3-3 with Kings Heath. Borough, although not yet victors, had made the final just two season's previously, going down 2-1 to Paget Rangers.
 
Progress in this season's competition (thanks to the very informative match-day programme for making this research very easy) looked like this:

Knowle - FC Shush (h) 3-3 (5-4 pens), GNP SPorts (a) 3-3 (P), Birmingham Tigers (h) 3-0, Enville Athletic (a) 1-0
Borough - Feckenham (h) 5-1, Bolmere Sports & Social (h) 1-0, Continental Star (a) 1-0, Inkberrow (h) 4-0

League-wise neither side has set the world alight this season. Knowle finished in 8th spot with 42 points. Borough four places and ten points lower. The two league meetings had both ended in home wins, Redditch winning 2-1 and Knowle 3-0, giving no real indication of the possible outcome on a neutral ground. Interestingly, both sides had played Coventry Alvis in their final league outings and both had lost. Knowle went down 2-1 whilst Borough had been beaten 6-1 on their own patch. 

​The Game
It was Redditch, playing in their change kit of all blue, who made the better start of the two sides with Jak Albutt immediately making a real nuisance of himself with his bustling, battling style. However, they failed to make the most of their good start, allowing Knowle to gradually work their way back into the game.

​Then, as so often happens when a side has been on the back foot for a while, Knowle suddenly looked the more dangerous, forcing a corner on their right after 24 minutes. The ball was delivered into a dangerous area  where it was met by a Knowle head. Only a slight deflection prevented a goal, the ball clipping the top of the bar and going for another corner. Borough, however, did not learn their lesson and, when this corner was delivered deeper, towards the back post, it was met by the head of Louis Bridges, who powered the ball back across the keeper and into the far corner. 1-0.

​Redditch, after looking the better side for the opening 15 minutes, found themselves behind and wobbling a little. Five minutes after going a goal behind, they really should have conceded again. A move down the Knowle left flank led to a cross finding their number 8, unmarked in the box but he couldn't get his header on target when he maybe should have scored. A let off for Borough, and one that they capitalised on after 35 minutes when they were awarded a penalty. Billy Garvey stepped up and calmly slotted home the spot-kick. 1-1
The boot was now firmly back on the other foot with Redditch winning the ball back almost immediately from the restart, raiding down their left flank. The cross was delivered over to the back post and was then hooked back into the mix where Khurum Iqbal was on hand to steer the ball low past Johnson's despairing dive to make it 1-2. A great turnaround from the Robins.

HT Knowle 1 Redditch Borough 2. Redditch deserve their lead and have been the better side despite conceding the first goal.

​It's hard to know what to write about the second-half. Knowle came out with a steely determination to get themselves back on level terms and, to their credit, the majority of the half was played in the Borough half of the pitch. However, Redditch defended resolutely whilst still looking quite dangerous on the break. Knowle, despite all of their efforts, just could not find a way through the Borough back-line and Redditch were able to see out the half, including 7 minutes of stoppage time, to take the trophy for the first time.




​FT Knowle 1 Redditch Borough 2. Great spirit from Redditch to fight back from a goal down but Knowle showed equal spirit in their second half performance. It was hard to separate them sides overall and a shame that there had to be a loser.

Knowle (from): Bridges, Cullen, Davis, Else, Ingram, Payne, Powell, Ruck, Seeley, Weeks, Johnson. Subs: Ajayi, Brooks, Healey, Fox, Oakley
Redditch Borough: Gandy, Turner, Bruce, Iqbal, Hatfield (c), Denham, Westwood, Hall, Albutt, Garvey, Wilkinson. Subs: Bennett, Birch, Sargent, Davies, Ruppenthal, Smith

Att: 203
Ground Number: 199
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: £1.00

​The Ground
Purton play home games at The Redhouse Club perched on a hill to the South East of Purton village itself. The ground is part of a community sports complex that hosts bowls and tennis as well as football. The pitch sits below the level of the main facilities building and is accessed by the players via a small set of stairs which lead down next to the dugouts. There are no stands around the pitch but the elevated view from the level above the playing area is pretty good. Apart from a public toilet, there didn't appear to be any other facilities for spectators, which was a shame because I was looking forward to a cup of tea. Nevertheless. with the view looking out towards Cricklade and beyond, its a pleasant enough location to watch a game and, luckily, the torrential rain I had driven through on the way to the ground held off for the duration. The pitch, although pretty flat, looked like it could have done with a trim before the game.

The Background
The game had no real significance in terms of league positions for either club. Kintbury had already secured second place quite a few games previously. Purton, who were themselves on a good run of form, were secure in fifth and, although they could draw level with Melksham Town Reserves with a win, would need an enormous scoreline to overhaul them on goal difference.
There was, however, pride to play for. Back in November Kintbury had inflicted a 5-1 defeat on Purton in the reverse fixture with goals from Shaun Thorp (2), George Smith, Harry Way, and Fabio Pinto. A solitary William Backhouse goal being the response from Purton, who also had Callum Hall sent off for two yellow card ofences.

​The Game
Having seen Kintbury play Wroughton only two days previously I could tell, even without team sheets, that this was a much changed Rangers line-up. Presumably, Purton had also noticed this and, as a consequence, went for it straight from the kick-off.
Within three minutes of the start, Purton took the lead. A swift break down the right was followed by a low cross which evaded all of the Kintbury defenders. Purton's George Drewitt had time to control the ball and pick his spot beating captain for the night Kyle Clough to make it 1-0.
Only three more minutes passed before the home side doubled their advantage. The entire Kintbury backline stopped, looking for an offside flag that never came. Daren Regis was left to waltz past the stranded Clough and roll the ball into an open net for 2-0.
Purton were now running riot. The Kintbury coaching team had already made some formation changes in an attempt to stem the red flow but their side looked disjointed with no real shape to them. With 20 minutes on the clock, Nathan Marland was set free down the exposed Kintbury right-flank before driving into the box and beating Clough with a low drive. 3-0
Whether, at this point, Purton took their foot off the gas a bit or, more likely, Kintbury's changed line-up finally started to gel a little, the initial rush of goals dried up. Kintbury's front two chased and harried whenever they could but were effectively feeding off scraps as the home side continued to control the game even if they didn't manage to add to their tally for the remainder of the half.

HT Purton 3 Kintbury Rangers 0. Rangers requiring something of a Champions League style comeback to get anything out of this game. Purton, to be fair, looked a good side and even though this was a final, dead rubber league game, were treating it like any other match.

​There was a renewed vigour about Rangers early in the second half. Clearly, they were missing a number of regular first-teamers but the side they had put out looked determined to save themselves from taking a complete hammering.
Ten minutes into the second period they had a real opportunity to get back into the game but Charlie Alsop put the chance over the Purton bar. However, just before the hour mark, Rangers did manage to get on the scoresheet, George Smith beating the offside trap before rounding the keeper and sliding the ball home. 3-1. Could this be the start of another comeback?
Purton clearly wanted to kill off any hopes that Rangers may have been harbouring and immediately set about getting the three-goal lead back. Twice in quick succession, they tested Clough with the Rangers stopper producing vital saves on both occasions. Then it was back down the other end where a Rangers effort from just outside the box beat the Purton keeper only to rattle the bar and fly to safety. How that could have changed the outcome of the game if it had been 2 inches lower.
As it was, on 78 minutes, Clough had to be at his best again, producing a flying save to keep out another Purton effort. However, three minutes later as the clocked ticked to 81 minutes, there was absolutely nothing the keeper could do to prevent a blistering angled drive from Purton substitute Manuel Mesas flying into the far corner. 4-1
Then, to round the game off and give me an excuse for the terrible wordplay in the blog title (sorry, but it's the end of a long season of writing and it is a popular film at the moment), another substitute, Chris Avery, was set up with the reasonably simple task of slotting the ball home from 10 yards to make it 5-1

FT Purton 5 Kintbury Rangers 1. Retribution for the reverse fixture for Purton who finish the season in fifth place after a very good run of results that they will, no doubt, want to carry over into next term. Kintbury have second place and a Senior Cup in their trophy cabinet. Their patched together side, that looked completely bereft in the first half, gave a decent account of itself in the second 45 minutes.

Att: 32
Ground Number: 198
Entrance: 0.00
Programme: N/A

One of the great things about the end of the season is that I quite often find the opportunity to visit teams lower down the pyramid. This Tuesday was a case in point. An chance to see two teams that I hadn't seen before, a ground that I had not visited before and a league that I hadn't sampled before. All that and a 6:30 kick off which meant that I would be home at a  reasonable time.

The Ground
Kintbury Rangers play their home games at The Recreation Ground, on the western edge of Kintbury and what a little gem it is. Accessed via a small driveway that services both the football ground and bowls club, there is a small car park behind one of the goals as well as parking on the grass down one side of the pitch. At the opposite end of the ground from the car park is a rather quaint looking building, somewhat reminiscent of the cottage at Craven Cottage, that houses the club house and other facilities.
There is one small, wooden covered standing area on the far side of the ground but what makes the ground different from most others is the fact that there is a dugout on either side of the pitch. Talk about keeping the benches apart.

​The Background
The Wiltshire Senior League was all new to me before Tuesday evening, although I was familiar with some of the names from their days in the Hellenic League. This was the last league game for Wroughton and the penultimate one for Kintbury. Wroughton had already secured the league title, even if Kintbury were to win both remaining games. Kintbury's 1 point deduction for fielding an illegible player meant that they could not now catch their rivals. However, only the previous weekend, Rangers had beaten Wroughton 3-2 in the Senior Cup Final in what was, by all accounts, a tremendous game.
So, it was with some excitement that I ventured into Wiltshire on Tuesday night, hoping for a good match. I was not to be disappointed.

​The Game
Kintbury, in their orange and black kit, made a blistering start to the game. Inside the first minute George Smith curled a delightful effort past the outstretched Wroughton keeper Callum Wilkinson, only to see his effort strike to post and fly to safety. Rangers had the bit between their teeth and only a superb reach from Wilkinson prevented Kintbury's number 9 from getting his name on the score sheet after little more than 2 minutes had passed.
Wroughton were rocking but, like true table-toppers, they gathered their wits quickly, stemming the home sidde's attacks and getting themselves back into the game. What followed, for the best part of the next half hour, was a fascinating encounter, interspersed with some, shall we say eccentric, officiating and a strange series of events surrounding a substitution. First of all, Kintbury decided to withdraw their number 11. Thee didn't seem to be a noticeable injury but the substitution came immediately after a Kintbury attack petered out when the aforementioned player failed to chase a loose ball because he was looking away from the play, looking somewhat disinterested. There was a brief exchange ebtween player and bench and then the player walked form the pitch, ignoring coaches and team mates before heading straight towards the changing rooms. Strange in itself (although maybe I misread the situation), but there was more to follow. Kintbury introduced substitute Chris Collin, waved on by the assistant on that side of the pitch.
One of the Kintubury players, seeing the the referee was apparently oblivious to the fact that they had made a substitution, pointed it out to him. The official then called the substitute over to the bench and, after having words with the coaching staff, booked Collin for entering the field of play without permission. All this despite the assistant apparently waving him on initially. Needless to say, the home bench was not happy with the officiating.

They were even more unhappy on 33 minutes when their defence allowed Aaron Maximen to rise, unchallenged, to head home a right-wing corner, making it 0-1.
The goal swung the action in favour of Wroughton who, seven minutes later, doubled their lead. Number 8 worked hard in midfield, winning the ball back and playing in Shane Hibbert who guided the ball past Kyle Clough to make it 0-2.

That was the end of the scoring in the opening 45 minutes, a first-half that, as a neutral, had passed in the blink of an eye.

HT Kintbury Rangers 0 Wroughton 2. Wroughton, after surviving an initial onslaught, were good value for their lead at the break.

​If the crowd thought that the first half was entertaining, the opening 15 minutes of the second half eclipsed it in all ways. Five minutes in George Smith was felled in the Wroughton box. Penalty to Kintbury. Smith took the spot-kick himself but was denied by a brillaint save from Wilkinson. However, celebrations were cut short when the referee noticed the assistant's flag. Apparently the keeper had moved before the kick was taken. The referee ordered a re-take and this time Smith made no mistake, putting the ball to the opposite side. 1-2 and now it as the turn of the Wroughton bench to be furious with the  officials.
Maybe they would have been better served to have concentrated on marshalling their team because, two minutes later the home side drew level. A right-wing corner causing chaos in the Wroughton six yard box and the ball being forced over the line amidst appeals for a foul on Wilkinson. The goal was givin immediately and credited to Rangers substitue Jake Rowe.
There was a brief lull in the action but, just past the hour mark Ali Thorp was sent clear for Rangers. He was hauled back by Craig Bowden for a second penalty. The Wroughton defender escaped with a yellow card when it could easily have been a red. Smith stepped up and clamly slotted away his second and Kintbury's third. 3-2 and the comeback was complete.

Wroughton tried to rally, Hibbert coming close but ot was Rangers who looked more likely to get a fourth. However, neither transpired and the referee drew a close to whta had been a thoroughly compelling encounter between two very good, competitive sides

FT Kintbury Rangers 3 Wroughton 2. Rangers won the battle but it was Wroughton left celebrating at the end, lifting the Wiltshire  Senior League trophy for the third time and keeping up the recent pattern of these two sides alternating title wins.
As I said at the start of this blog, this was my first taste of the Wiltshire Senior League. On this evidence, it ceetainly won't be the last. I'll be tapping into this league for a number of games next season.

Kintbury Rangers: Clough, Lee, Williams, Thorne, Sopp, Pinto (c), Mahoney, A.Smith, A.Thorp, G.Smith, Way. Subs: Cox, Rowe, S.Thorp, Collin

Att: 
Ground Number: 197
Entrance: £0.00
Programme: N/A

Thursday night football was a toss-up between one of the Isthmian League Play-off Semi-Finals or the title decider in Division Two East of the Hellenic League. Well, I love a title decider and I really don't like the M25 at rush-hour, so it was off to Marsh Lane for Long Crendon v Langley.

The Background
Three sides had dominated the Hellenic Division Two East all season. Long Crendon, Langley and Penn & Tylers Green Development had lost just 5 games between the three of them. With just a single league game to go, Long Crendon v Langley, all three sides were locked on 74 points, just goal difference keeping Long Crendon on top of the pile.
So, the whole season came down to one game. Long Crendon needed a point to take the title, Langley had to go for the win.

​The Game
Long Crendon could have been forgiven for keeping it tight in this game. After all, they only needed a point to clinch the title. However, it was the team in green who started the stronger of the two sides. After just a couple of minutes Oli Lethbridge got clear on the right, forcing a good save from the Langley keeper. Moments later an Archie Pettingell effort scraped the top of the Langley bar with the keeper well beaten. Langley, to their credit, weathered the initial storm and played their way into the game.
After 26 minutes Langley had a massive shout for a penalty when one of their players appeared to be taken out when in a goal-scoring position. From my angle, admittedly at the opposite end of the ground, it did look like a penalty. However the referee, who was in a much better position, immediately waved play on despite the protestations of the Langley players. This could well have been the turning point of the game because, barely six minutes later, Long Crendon took the lead through Christian Warwick who drilled the ball firmly past the Langley keeper. 1-0
The goal put Long Crendon firmly in control of their destiny. They immediately looked a lot more relaxed and confident on the ball. Langley were wobbling a little and could clearly see their title challenge fading at this point.
Three minutes before half-time Long Crendon hit Langley with a second, and probably decisive, goal. Some good work down their right flank led to the ball being crossed into the path of captain Alex Farley. His low drive back across the keeper nestled into the corner of the net to make it 2-0.

HT Long Crendon 2 Langley 0. With the home side only needing a point for the title, it's going to take something very special from Langley in the second half.

​Langley appeared back out very early for the second-half. Presumably there was not too much for their manager to say. It was abundantly clear what was required of them in the second-half. Despite the early re-emergence of the away team, it as the home side who had the brighter start and on 54 minutes they came close to increasing their lead but Hawkes saw his effort denied by the Langley keeper.

As with the pattern of the first half, Langley played themselves back into the game and, just before the hour mark, came close to getting a goal back themselves when a header from a left-wing corner was headed off the Crendon line by Joe Russell.

Langley kept trying to press for a way back into the game but were eventually undone when, following a Long Crendon break, Archie Pettingell was adjudged to have been fouled in the box. Nathan Brownsword stepped up and calmly slotted home the penalty to make it 3-0 and put the title firmly in the bag.
Crendon were clearly boosted by their third goal and a few minutes later came exceedingly close to getting a fourth. Only some good goal-keeping and last ditch defending prevented a goal. Credit to Langley who were still putting their bodies on the line to keep the ball out even though the game had effectively gone for them.
With 79 minutes on the clock, Harry Pettingell applied the icing to the Crendon cake with a sublime goal. Taking a diagonal ball on his chest he then volleyed and unstoppable effort over the keeper and into the net. Fantastic technique and a goal to grace any game. 4-0

​​FT Long Crendon 4 Langley 0. After a season where the sides have been neck and neck, Long Crendon took the title in some style.
Congratulations to Long Crendon but great credit should be given to Langley and Penn & Tylers Green Development, who both pushed the champions all the way.

Long Crendon: Collingwood, Russell, Bonwick, T.Lethbridge, Farley (c), Brownsword, Warwick, H.Pettingell, Hakes, A.Pettingell, O.Lethbridge. Subs: B.Sykes, T.Sykes, Tack, Chappell, Hawthorne

Att: 
Ground Number: Re-visit
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: Included
​

Tuesday evening presented a choice of football. There were a couple of Step 4 play-off Semi-Finals that both looked to be interesting games, but there was also the small matter of the Witney & District Ted Young Senior Cup Final between Hailey and The Hollybush FC, I couldn't miss out on the opportunity to support the lower echelons of the game, especially as the game was being played just down the road from home. So it was that I set out for Eynsham Park, home of North Leigh, which also happens to be one of my favourite non-league locations.

The Background
The Senior Cup Final would be contested by last season's winners The HollyBush FC, and four times previous winners, Hailey FC (2006, 2008, 2010, 2011).  
In this season's competition Hollybush have already beaten league champions Charlbury 3-1 away from home and Kirtlington 3-2 in the Semi-Final. Hailey have played both of their games away from home, winning 2-1 at Spartan Rangers and 4-2 at Tower Hill.

Hailey came into the game after already picking up some silverware on the same ground two weeks ago, winning the Fred Ford Cup with a 2-1 victory over Kirtlington.
Both sides had seen a fairly successful league campaign with Hollybush currently in second spot and Hailey in third. The latter having a game remaining that, should they win it, would mean they would take second spot from their rivals. In league terms Hollybush have the meanest defensive record in the division conceding just 23 goals in 18 games, whilst Hailey are the second highest scorers with 47 in their 17 outings. Both league meetings finished 0-0 which indicates that this could be a tight affair too.

​The Game
As alluded to with the two league meetings this season, the opening encounters of this game showed that there wasn't going to be too much between these sides. It was definitely a slow burner with neither side being able to establish themselves in the game.
It was 15 minutes into the match before we saw the first meaningful strike on goal, Dan King's effort from just outside the box forcing Rayfield to get down quickly at his near post. There followed another period of battling between the sides, with little in the way of serious goalmouth incidents, except when Rayfield misjudged a cross and  the ball fell to Hollybush striker Craig Mays, but he couldn't keep his shot below the crossbar.
Just after the half-hour mark Hailey suddenly produced a flowing, one-touch move that was without doubt the best piece of action in the game so far. Unfortunately for them the final effort from Travis O'Connor sailed narrowly wide of the mark. With the clock ticking down towards half-time, Hailey were almost gifted the lead when Matt Howard dropped a right-wing corner but luckily for the Hollybush keeper there was a defender on hand to hook the ball off the line and to safety. The fumble seemed to shake the keeper and, shortly afterwards, he fumbled another ball giving Hailey striker Jack Wood a chance which was just about snuffed out by a saving tackle from a Hollybush defender. 

HT The Hollybush FC 0 Hailey 0. Not the most entertaining of games, but still the odd glimpse of possible better things to come. Cagey was how I described it on Twitter and I can't think of a better description.

​Hollybush were out very early for the second-half but it was Hailey who engineered the first real effort with the lively Nathan Kimber forcing Matt Howard into a good save, the stopper seemingly recovered from a couple of fumbles towards the end of the first half.
Back down the other end and Hollybush appealed for a penalty after two players came together in the box. The referee, however, remained unmoved.

On 57 minutes, however, the man in the middle did have a decision to make as Dan King flew into a high challenge in midfield, leaving a Hailey player in a heap. The referee had no hesitation in pulling out a red card. Despite plenty of protestations from the Hollybush players, the referee had very little option but to send off King. From the resulting free-kick, Kimber again forced Howard into a decent save, the ball bobbling up in front of the keeper at the last moment.
However, there was nothing that the revitalised Hollybush keeper could do a minute later. A left-wing corner was met by Sean King who powered a header into the net. 0-1

At this point with Hollybush a man and a goal down, Hailey were expected to push on and win comfortably. However, try as they might, they could not find a way to kill the game off and, after 79 minutes, they were punished for it.
Hollybush earned a free-kick on the left, midway into the Hailey half. The ball was delivered into the box, eventually finding its way to Daniel Brearley who prodded it over the line for the equaliser. 1-1

Shocked into action by the equaliser, Hailey looked to take advantage of their extra man. Kimber again tested Howard with a free-kick with the Hollybush stopper coming out on top again. Hailey had their own penalty shout, but the referee waved play on and the then, inside the last minute, Kimber was set free on the right, driving into the box but again, Howard pulled out all of the stops to make a vital save and take the game into extra-time.

FT Hollybush 1 Hailey 1. You had to admire the effort from Hollybush who managed to stay in the game at a man and a goal down before forcing an equaliser from a set play, but extra-time was going to be tough with a man light.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Hailey began to dominate play in extra-time, being a player short was beginning to take its toll on Hollybush. However, Hailey were once again struggling to break through the final line of Hollybush defending, that is until the 99th minute when Hollybush captain Carl Austin was adjudged to have fouled a Hailey striker in the box. The incident happened on the side of the pitch where I was standing and, I have to say that, although it was a soft penalty, it was the correct decision. Austin went to ground and the Hailey striker went over him. Not a deliberate foul by any means, but a foul nevertheless. Jack Wood waited for the protestations to die down before stroking the ball home to make it 2-1 to Hailey.
There was still time in the first period for Howard to make a superb fingertip save from a Buckingham drive to keep his side in with a slim hope.

HT in ET. Hollybush 1 Hailey 2. Hailey had the advantage and would kick down the slope against 10 men for the final 15 minutes.

With Hollybush hanging on you felt that it is a matter of time before Hailey killed the game off but, again, the Hoops just couldn't muster that final blow. With that said, Hollybush also didn't seem to be able to put together any meaningful attacks and it looked as if the game would just draw to an uneventful conclusion.
Then, out of nowhere, Hollybush managed to summon up the effort to push up the slope one final time. There was a barely a minute of extra-time remaining when, after some hesitation in the Hailey box, Mays found himself the meat in a Hailey sandwich, with Rayfield bringing the striker down. Penalty to Hollybush. Mays picked himself up and slotted home the spot-kick and we were all square again at 2-2.

FT in ET. Hollybush 2 Hailey 2. Penalties to decide the winner.

Penalties (Scores in brackets, Hollybush first)
Hollybush take the first penalty and score. (1-0)
O'Connor for Hailey, scores. (1-1)
Bryant for Hollybush hits the bar (1-1)
Kimber for Hailey. Howard gets a hand to it but can't stop it. (1-2)
Mays, who scored the late equalising penalty, scores for Hollybush (2-2)
Tinson for Hailey, but Howard saves well. (2-2)
Stubbs scores for Hollybush (3-2)
Jordan Cormack levels it up for Hailey (3-3)
Hughes for Hollybush but Royfield makes the save (3-3)
Jack Wood scores to win it for Hailey. (3-4)

Congratulations to Hailey FC, Witney & District Senior Cup Winners, 2018-19

Hollybush: Howard, Stubbs, Robinson, Brearley, Austin, King, Threlfell, Hughes, Rogers, Mays, Bryant. Subs: Grant, E.Williams, Brookes, R. Williams
Hailey: Royfield, Foster, Tinson, Mutch, Wood, King, O'Connor, Cormack, Kimber, Buckingham, Gregory. Subs: Wright, Slimani, Evans, Burnell, Webb

Att: 
Ground Number: Re-visit
Entrance: £3.00
Programme: Included