​Possibly the final midweek game of the season. My original plan to go to the PDFL League Cup Final was scuppered by a conflict with a domestic appointment. I also had my eye on the Gloucestershire County League play-off game between Chalford and Avonmouth. However, work commitments meant that a trip to Bristol was also out of the question. Luckily I had three game son my potential list. The third one (not in any order of preference by the way) was the Maidenhead Norfolkian Junior Cup Final between Reading YMCA Rapids and Stoke Poges at Burnham FC's 1878 Stadium. I must admit, one of the main attractions was that I knew absolutely nothing about this competition. It wouldn't be the first time I had seen Rapids play, after spending a very enjoyable evening watching them play Henley Town Development a couple of years back (Bye By Red Kites). Although I have never seen Stoke Poges play, I do have some connection. I used to run past their ground practically every day during my lunch hour, when I worked in Wexham.

​The Ground
I hadn't been to Burnham FC's 1878 Stadium for a good few years until this season, and now I've been back twice in a matter of 6 months. It was a damn sight warmer this time than at my last visit back on a icily cold December afternoon just before last Christmas, when I witnessed Abingdon United Women keep up their title challenge with a 2-0 win over hosts Wycombe Wanderers Women (Two Wil Do For The Yellow & Blue).
Obviously, the stadium has not changed since December. 

The Programme
The cup is run by the East Berkshire Football League and they produced a small programme for the occasion, priced at £1.00. The front and back pages were full colour and glossy, with eight black & white internal pages featuring a welcome message, pen pics of both squads along with club histories for both teams.

​The Background
As I said, one of the reasons that I was drawn to this fixture was that I knew very little about the competition. It appears to have been around for quite some time, but I am yet to discover much about its history. In fact, I can't even say who were the current holders or if either of today's teams had won the trophy previously. I'd be really interested to learn more if anyone can point me to the information.
What I did manage to learn from my research was that this evening's final was to be contested between two sides who had already been very successful in their respective leagues this season.
Stoke Poges were coming into the game on the back of winning the East Berkshire Division One title by some distance. Until last weekend, they had a 100% league record and had already captured the title when they went down 4-1 to second placed Sandhurst Town. With a cup final four days away, the result probably did not reflect their season. They could also boast four players in the league's top ten scorers list, including their own top scorer Sam Manton who had 29 goals in 25 outings.
Meanwhile, Rapids also won their league, Thames Valley Division Two and, in a mirror of Stoke Poges, had also lost their last league outing, 5-2 at home to SB Phoenix Reserves. As with Stoke Poges, the league title was already in the bag at this point. Top Scorer Joel Burton also finished as the league's top marksman with 25 goals in 25 games.
The road to the final for Stoke Poges started at Maidenhead Town "A" where they won 3-0. This was followed by being awarded an away win against Taplow United Reserves. The semi-final was against Cressex which Stoke won by a score of 5-3. Reading began with a 3-2 win at Hambledon Reserves, then trounced Eton Wick 9-1 before beating Mortimer Development 3-0 in the semi-final.

Many thanks to fourth official Alan Higgs and referee Nick Phipps for getting the team sheets for me before kick-off. Very much appreciated.

​The Game
Stoke Poges, in their all green kit, were kicking towards the car park end in the first half and it was they who got of the first shot in anger when Ross McGarvie fired a third minute effort well over Kieran Lamb's crossbar. Despite the first corner of the game going to Rapids in the 8th minute, it was Stoke Poges who appeared to have settled the better of the two teams. On eleven minutes they really should have gone in front. A delightful ball played between the centre-half and full-back set Tai Maddox free on the right flank. He sent over a low cross aimed at the unmarked figure of Sam Manton inside the penalty area. However, with Lamb struggling to get across his goal in time, Manton could not make any significant contact on the ball. A massive let off for Reading.
Four minutes later Stoke came even closer to going in front and again the threat came down their right side. This time McGarvie did brilliantly to hold onto the ball before hitting a shot across Lamb, only to see the ball rebound off the inside of the far post before being hacked clear. Another inch to the right and the ball would have ended in the net.
Stoke could easily have been two goals up within the opening half of the first period and you just knew that they would live to regret missing the chances. The two close shaves seemed to finally raise Rapids from their slow start too. Jordan Sawyer had their first effort on target after 24 minutes, straight into the arms of keeper Mitchell Cumber, but a sign of their intent. Sure enough, two minutes after that, and against the general run of play, Rapids took the lead. A corner from the right was swung towards the back post where captain Tom Clark muscled his way past his marker to powerfully head past Cumber. 1-0
Just before the half-hour mark a second set piece almost put the red & black stripes two up. Again it was their captain Clark, this time drilling a free-kick narrowly wide of Cumber's right-hand post. The goal for Rapids had completely changed the dynamics of the game and whilst Reading were visibly more confident, Stoke seemed to have lost their way somewhat. Passes were going astray and the threat they posed early one seemed to be diminished.
A stoppage in play early on had led to quite a large amount of added time and it was just as we approached this that Stoke almost shot themselves in the foot. Playing out from the back, they needlessly gave the ball away well inside their own half and were very lucky to only concede a corner. They did, however, have the last say of the half, producing their best move of the game which concluded with Manton getting a trike on target only to find that Lamb had got his positioning spot on to save comfortably.

HT Reading YMCA Rapids 1 Stoke Poges 0. A classic example of how a goal can turn a game. Although it was relatively even for the first 25 minutes, Stoke were edging the game and had had the two best chances. Then Rapids scored and suddenly were on top.

​It became apparent early in the second period that Rapids were not going to start as slowly as they did the first half and but for a magnificent, acrobatic tip over the bar from Cumber, Joel Burton's shot from the edge of the box would have put them two up within four minutes of the restart.
Rapids looked much more confident on the ball now and had managed to push McGarvie deeper, nullifying his probing passing that had caused a few issues in the first half. The Greens were being restricted to longer range efforts, typified by Maddox's shot just before the hour mark, which sailed over Lamb's bar.
With just over twenty minutes left on the clock, Stoke again gifted the ball to Rapids inside their own half and this time were made to pay for it. Joel Burton spotted that Cumber was off his line and lofted the perfect lob over the keeper from all of 40 yards. 2-0
Stoke tried to respond. George Flynn's 72nd minute header was on target but straight at Lamb. Ten minutes later Sam Manton also got a strike on target but again straight into the arms of Lamb. It was difficult to see where a Stoke goal was coming from and Reading, since the second goal, had managed the game well.
There was still time for Stoke to curse their bad luck once more though, Ryan Manton's free-kick beating Lamb but coming back off the post.

FT Reading YMCA Rapids 2 Stoke Poges 0. A game that really showed the difference a goal can make. Stoke were arguably the better side until Reading went ahead. From that moment on, despite all of the Stoke efforts, it always felt that Reading were in control. Yes, Stoke hit the woodwork twice and can certainly count themselves unfortunate in that respect. If their early strike had gone in, who knows what would have happened. Overall, however, Rapids did enough to deserve their victory.
It's been a great season for both teams. Rapids did the double of League title and Maidenhead Norfolkian Junior Cup. Their first team also won the Berkshire Trophy Centre Senior Cup. Stoke Poges, I am sure, will be more than happy with their Division One title and an excellent season in which they out scored everyone and conceded fewer than every other team.

Reading YMCA Rapids: Lamb, Hathaway, Clark(c), Froude, Tucker, Burton, Robinson, Sawyer, Kitching, Harrison, Goodchild. Subs: Rees, Porter, Churcher, Stephens, Woodrow
Stoke Poges: Cumber(c), Pugh, Flynn, Rocha, Gartside, Maddox, Hammond, S,Manton, R.Manton, Barker, McGarvie. Subs: Meyer-White, Kennedy, Ensby, Gibson, Dyer

Ground Number: Re-Visit
Att: 
Entrance: £4.00
Programme: £1.00

Whittlesey Athletic Reserves squeeze out league champions Sawtry to make it three cup semi-finals in one season.

The last few weeks of the football season often throw up some really interesting fixtures, not least because the light nights make it possible for teams lower down the pyramid to play midweek games. There are also a number of cup competitions that run on into May that sometimes throw up some really intriguing match-ups. This Tuesday was a case in point, with a number of games in steps 7,8 & 9. One in particular caught my eye. A Peterborough & District League Cup Quarter-Final final between Sawtry and Whittlesey Athletic Reserves. I'd never seen Sawtry play or been to their ground before and, although I have never seen Whittlesey's Reserves play, I did spend a very pleasant evening out in The Fens watching Whittlesey's first team take on Downham Town at the start of last season (Up Market).

​The Background
On May 4th, Sawtry lost 2-1 at Whittlesey and sat 11 points adrift of leader Stanground Sports, albeit with three games in hand. Fast forward just 9 short days. Sawtry, after wins against Holbeach United Sports and Peterborough Polonia, now sat in third spot, two points adrift of Whittlesey and three behind the leaders. However, both first and second had completed their seasons and Sawtry had a game remaining, away at Stamford Lions, needing a win by at least 2 goals to secure the title. This they duly achieved, winning 7-0 to take the championship on goal difference.
What gives this quarter-final extra potential is the fact that, although Sawtry won the league, Whittlesey were only a single point shy and did the double over Sawtry this season. As stated above, earlier this month goals from Jack Carter and Kyle Hibbins cancelled out Matthew Church's effort to give Athletic all three points. They reverse fixture, played towards the end of April, saw Whittlesey win 4-0 with goals from Ben Cattanach, Jack Fryett, Matthew Heron and Caleb Sargent. Athletic can boast the tightest defence in the league having only conceded 31 goals in 26 outings. Interestingly, the tally of 31 goals in 26 game is identical to the record of the league's leading scorer, Sawtry's Matthew Church.
This evening's game was a League Cup Quarter-Final. As far as I could see, neither side has won this competition in the past. However, Whittlesey's first team have twice won the trophy, a 1-0 defeat of Langtoft United in 2016 and a 4-3 victory over Moulton Harrox in 2019. To get to this stage Sawtry received a bye in Round's 1 and 2 before defeating Pinchbeck United Reserves 9-8 on penalties after a 0-0 draw. They then were awarded an away win in their tie with Holbeach United Sports before beating FC Peterborough 1-0 away from home to set up this quarter-final.
Athletic also received a bye in the first two rounds. They then won 5-2 at Eunice Huntingdon before beating Peterborough City 5-4 on penalties after a goalless game. This was followed by a 4-2 win at last season's winners, Deeping Rangers Reserves.
Tonight it was first against third for a place in the League Cup Semi-Final and, for Whittlesey, the chance to reach a third cup final of the season, having already beaten Outwell Swifts 4-1 in the Cambs North Cup and and lost 5-4 on penalties, after a 2-2 draw, with Gamlingay United in the Cambs Junior Cup Final

​The Ground
Sawtry's Greenfields Sports Field is situated to the East of Sawtry centre, separated from village by the six lanes of the A1M. The contrast between the tranquillity of the sports field compared with the busy motorway is stark. Straight Drove, which leads to the football pitches, ends with a view over seemingly endless and very flat fields and big skies (something the East of the country is famous for). There is a reasonably large car park alongside the main football pitch, adjacent to the changing facilities and clubhouse, where drinks and snacks can be purchased.. There is also parking available just outside the car park on Straight Drove and Red Drove. Aside from the main pitch, there are also numerous small-sided pitches used by junior club, Sawtry Colts.

Sawtry play at level 12 (Step 8) of the pyramid therefore, as you would expect, there is no spectator stand at Greenfields. There is a low fence separating the supporters from the playing area on the clubhouse side of the pitch. There is also a small wall outside the clubhouse, which gives spectators a raised view over the dugouts. The opposite side of the pitch is open to the small sided-pitches and the cricket squares.
Although you can't expect this to happen every time you visit Greenfields, just prior to kick-off we were treated to the rare site of a Lancaster Bomber flying past the ground, on it's way to the Spitalgate, the first of the former RAF site ply-pasts scheduled to mark the anniversary of the Dambusters raid.
​

​The Game
As the league table showed, there's not too much between the teams and the opening 15 minutes fully demonstrated this fact. Neither side was able to take hold of the game and neither managed to stretch the opposition goalkeeper. When a half-chance did present itself, it went to the visitors. Jack Bates latched onto a ball down the left, manged to just get ahead of his marker and let fly. His effort took a big deflection off a defender, lopped over Harvey Gargiulo in the home goal, but dropped wide of the far post for a corner.
Just on the halfway point of the first half, Sawtry did get the ball in the net when Matt Church cut in from the left before drilling a low shot off Jonathon Pullan's far post. The rebound was snapped up at the far post but the assistant's flag had already gone up. There followed a short period of tit-for-tat attempts. Matt Heron headed into Gargiulo's arms on 28 minutes and then shortly after the half-hour, Hayden Bream struck an effort straight at Pullan from the edge of the box. Immediately after this attempt, Athletic launched an attack of their own, launching a ball into the home penalty area. Both goalkeeper and a visiting striker challenged for the ball, with the keeper coming in from behind the attacker. When the Athletic player went over, the referee was quick to point to the spot. It did look like some contact was made but it appeared minimal. One of those incidents that sometimes gets given and other times doesn't. This time it did. Matt Heron didn't mind either way as he stepped up to send Gargiulo the wrong way. 0-1
The goal rocked Sawtry for a while and, a few minutes later, they were only a piece of excellent defending away from going two down. When the ball was fired goalward, with the home keeper out of position, Merlyn Gray somehow managed to get back onto the line and get a head to the ball to divert it over for a corner. Superb defending that galvanised the home side and two minutes before the break they got themselves back onto level terms. A nicely weighted through ball found Brian Smith bursting into the left hand side of the box. He struck his shot early towards the far post, possibly catching Pullan out. The keeper got a hand to the shot but could not prevent it nestling in the far corner. 1-1

HT Sawtry 1 Whittlesey Athletic Reserves 1. Overall the score-line reflected the game. Very little choose between the sides and nothing to indicate that either side was going to dominate in the second period either.

​Although the second half started off looking like a much more open game it still took a few minutes before either side looked like adding to the scoresheet. However, as we approached the hour mark, the sides decided to treat us to five minutes of absolute madness. It started with a near miss on 58 minutes. A Sawtry free-kick on the right was swung dangerously into the penalty area, curling across the 6 yard box. Sawtry's Craig Smith was a matter of millimetres away from getting a decisive touch on the ball. Any kind of touch would almost certainly have resulted in a goal. Instead, Whittlesey went up the other end and, two minutes later, had got themselves back in front. A corner whipped in from their right met by the head of Matt Briggs. 1-2.
They say teams are at their most vulnerable immediately after scoring. Well, you can't get much more immediate than the second Sawtry equaliser. Straight from kick-off they played the ball long. Matt Church chased the ball down, getting between defender and goalkeeper before sweeping the ball into an empty net. 2-2
Unfortunately for the home side, the old adage applies both ways. Less than two minutes after squaring it up, they found themselves behind again when the unmarked Aaron Dunmore was left to smash the ball past Gargiulo. 2-3
The game then settled down. We had the unusual sight, at this level anyway, of a player getting booked for diving when Kieran Hibbins incurred the referees wrath. Then on 71 minutes Bream almost produced a peach of a third equaliser for Sawtry, acrobatically firing goalward with an overhead kick, only to see his effort go just wide. A few minutes later the same player came close again when he flashed a shot just wide of the same post, but it just wouldn't come for the home team. Their frustrations with what they saw as inconsistent refereeing decisions came to a head in the 85th minute when they lost their captain to the sin-bin after some words aimed at the referee following a penalty claim. That just about finished their chances of taking the game to penalties and Whittlesey successfully closed the game down for the remaining few minutes.

FT Sawtry 2 Whittlesey Athletic Reserves 3. A tight game in front of a good-sized crowd, that was decided during five manic minutes in the second half. Athletic make it three wins over the league champions this season and go through to take on Premier League Warboys Town in the semi-final after The Witches beat Ramsey Town 6-2. Moulton Harrox ended pluck AFC Malborne's run with a 7-1 win and will take on either Crowland Town or Oakham United in the other, all Premier League semi-final.
That's the season over for Sawtry but they can look forward to life in the Premier League next season.

Sawtry: Gargiulo, Scarff, Gray, Flanz, C.Smith, Neal, Bream, Taylor, Bohonis, Church, B.Smith. Subs: Pilkington, Dixon, Brown, Schofield, Searle
Whittlesey Athletic Reserves: Pullan, Long, Carter, Gale, Briggs, Saunders, Kyle Hibbins, Stephens, Kieran Hibbins, Heron (c), Bates. Subs:  Dunmore, J.Fryett, A.Fryett, Campbell, Sargent
​


Ground Number: 367
Att: 
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

It's that time of the season when I try to squeeze in every last bit of football before the barren Summer months. With this in mind, I had penciled in a quick trip to Coventry on Friday evening for the Coventry Benevolent Cup Final. It was an early kick-off, at 6:15, which meant that I had to leave home by 4:45 to be certain of making it. This is always fraught because I never know if a work meeting or incident will drop into my Inbox towards the end of my day. Thankfully, this week, it didn't. Having already looked into this match for some background and finding very little on the internet, I was particularly intrigued. What was this cup all about? What is the history? Who are the holders? Pretty much all I knew beforehand was this season's final would be between AFC Coventry and Stockingford AA Pavilion, both Coventry Alliance Division 1 sides, and that the game would be played at Hawkes Mill Sports Club. I'd never seen either of these teams play before and I'd never been to the ground before.

​The Ground
Ove the years I've watched football at the majority of locations in the CV post code. However, I'll admit that not only had I never been to Hawkes Mill Sports Club before, I was not even aware of its existence until I started looking into this match. Situated to the North-West of Coventry city centre on the periphery of the Allesley district, the club has two full size pitches as well as a couple of small-sided ones. The club house can host parties and events and, from comments on Google seems to be a popular place with Coventry City supporters particularly as club legend Lloyd McGrath seems to have a connection to the club.
The main car park isn't that big, but there is plenty of parking available on grass behind one of the goals, with Marshalls directing traffic on the day to make it easier to find. There's no spectator cover around the ground, although you can watch the game in some comfort from one of the tables situated outside the clubhouse, behind one of the goals, should you so wish. The playing surface, although no 100% flat, looked in superb condition.

​The Background
The Coventry Benevolent Cup remains something of a mystery. Try as I might, I couldn't much information about the origin or history of the competition. One thing I did find out was that the holders were Bulkington Poppys who beat Folly Lane 3-1 in last season's final. I can't say for sure if either of this season's finalists have won the trophy before or not. Both sides play in Division 1 of the Coventry Alliance League. However, with two games remaining, Stockingford have already secured second place, meaning that they and last season's winners, Bulkington Poppys, will be promoted to the Premier League for next season.
The road to the final for the teams has seen something of a contract. Stockingford have had no problem scoring, beating fellow Division 1 side Fillongley 6-0 and following it up with a 5-4 defeat of Division 2 outfit Craven Athletic. AFC required penalties in both of their matches after drawing 1-1 on each occasion. First of all they saw off Division 2 Yelvertoft 5-4 from the spot. This was followed with a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Bedworth Liberal, also a Division 1 side.
As an indicator, the sides have met twice in the league. Back in October Stockingford won 2-0 at home courtesy of goals from Lewis Commins and Conor McEwan. The reverse league fixture in April also saw Stockingford victorious. This time by a 3-2 score-line with two goals from Vinny Glaznieks and another from Alex Taylorson. Boketshu Bomolo and Ravinder Sandhu replying for Coventry. Just a week or so after this league game there was also an extraordinary Bermuda Cup clash, also at Coventry's Cauldon Castle Sports Centre home. Stockingford ran riot on that occasion with a hat-trick from Kyle Crawford, two from Vinny Glaznieks and further strikes from Lewis Commins, Charlie Cook, Ashley Tandy and Alex Taylorson giving them a thumping 9-0 victory.
Recent history, therefore, was not in favour of AFC Coventry. However, that all goes out of the window in a final.
Thanks to the fourth official who was happy to let me take a photograph of both teams sheets prior to kick-off. Unfortunately, the numbers on the Stockingford shirts did not all match up with the team sheet, so I had to try to work out who was who during the game (mainly by trying to catch players names and then match them to a number). If I get any wrong, please let me know and I will correct the blog.

​The Game
Following some initial jousting between the sides in the opening minutes, the game started to settle into a pattern that continued throughout the first half. Stockingford taking the lion's share of possession, trying to build attacks through their midfield. Coventry, when they did win the ball back, looked to be more direct, getting the ball forward as early as they could, particularly looking for the runs of the speedy Badru Rajab. they also had Will Pattison's long throw, which looked like it could be a dangerous weapon, capable of reaching the penalty area from not too far inside the opponents half. On 11 minutes, a throw much closer to the penalty area gave him the chance to launch one right into the heart of the Pavilion goalmouth. After a few players challenged for the ball, goalkeeper Jake Bull had to stretch to claw the ball out from under the bar.
Just past the quarter hour mark Brady Middleton was played in by a delightful long through ball. However, AFC captain Harjeet Gosal made up a lot of ground to get in an excellent blocking tackle.
Rajab again had a chance on 20 minutes, this time making it himself by winning possession on the halfway line. He drove towards goal but was unable to get his shot on target, pulling it across the target wide of Bull's left-hand post. Then, two minutes later, just about halfway through the half, Stockingford struck possibly the best goal I have seen this season. A Coventry clearance only made it just outside the penalty area where Josh Ruff met it on the half-volley, showing fantastic technique to smash an unstoppable drive into what is often referred to as the postage stamp.  Dirk Dugdale had no chance. 0-1. I hope AFC captured that one on their Veo. 
Three minutes later Stockingford almost made it two when they tried the long throw method and almost forced a Coventry defender to head into his own goal. The game was starting to get a little heated in midfield. One or two tackles were flying in, some of which didn't look too clever, although I think most were more badly timed than malicious. AFC certainly weren't going to go down without a fight and were making their mark, in more ways than one, in the middle of the pitch. Thankfully, it didn't boil over.
Just past the half hour mark Liam Stringer and Brady Middleton played a nice one-two down the right side of the Coventry penalty with the former getting clear but not able to get his strike on target. Pavilion did come very close to getting a second before the break when Kyle Crawford latched onto a through ball and rounded the keeper only to be denied by a great goal-line clearance from Gurdeep Kandola.

HT AFC Coventry 0 Stockingford AA Pavilion 1. Plenty still left in this game. Stockingford definitely on top in terms of possession and chances but AFC had shown enough to demonstrate that they could muster chances of their own.

​Both teams were out on the pitch well in advance of the officials, eager to get on with it.
When they did get back under way it appeared the Stockingford had decided to turn it up a notch or two. They were immediately on the front foot, penning Coventry back, a pattern that continued for much of the half. Five minutes into the second period, Dugdale produced an excellent save to keep out what looked like a certain goal for Crawford. The league's top scorer was having one of those night's, already thwarted by a goal-line clearance and a top class save. It wasn't going to get much better for him personally either. However, his team did go further in front just before the hour mark, and once again it was a goal of some quality. The ball was played into the box, to the feet of Brady Middleton. A deft first touch took him past a defender and created a shooting opportunity, which he took very well, driving low to Dugdale's left. 0-2
Stockingford were well on top now although, on 70 minutes, Sandhu did make Bull earn his keep with a full length save. It was AFC's first real opportunity of the half and, despite make a few changes, they were struggling to get a foothold on the game. 
In fact, Stockingford could, and probably should, have increased their lead. On 76 minutes Stringer rose well to get a head on a free-kick, seein his effort go just over the bar. A minute later, the luckless Crawford was again denied by a good save from Crawford and then, almost immediately, the same player missed a golden opportunity to put the game to bed. This was followed by substitute Alex Lock driving a shot narrowly wide of the mark. 
Credit to Coventry though, they weren't throwing in the towel and, resorting back to earlier tactics, a long bal over the top set Rajab free again, only for the striker to be denied by the feet of Jake Bull, who came off his line quickly to block.
With a minute to go Stockingford did finally finish the game off and it was another high quality goal that sealed it. Substitute, Toby Bartram, got the ball out on the left touchline around the halfway line. He drove down the line, outpaced his defender, angled his run into the penalty area and then hit a controlled finish across Dugdale into the far corner of the net. 0-3

FT AFC Coventry 0 Stockingford AA Pavilion 3. The big difference between the teams was best demonstrated by the fact that Stockingford scored three very well taken goals and that was the difference. The teams were quite evenly matched across the pitch but Coventry just did not have that cutting edge up front. Stockingford, by contrast, are blessed with players who clearly know their way to goal. When you consider that their top scorer (and the league's top scorer by some way), Kyle Crawford, didn't get on the scoresheet, you can see the strength in depth they have in that department. Their second top scorer was not even in the squad. AFC shouldn't be too disheartened though. They showed that they can match one of the top teams in a lot of aspects. They too did not have this season's top scorer in the squad.
That's it for the seaosn for AFC Coventry but you can still catch Stockingford in action before the Summer break. This Saturday they take on Bedworth Liberal in the Semi-Final of the Bermuda Cup at Heckley Playing Fields. Then they complete their league season with two games against Folly Lane. At home on the 25th May and away two days later.

Stockingford AA Pavilion: Bull, Tandy, Gray, Stringer, Bryan, Taylorson, Howey, Mitchell, Ruff, Crawford, Middleton. Subs: Leaney, Jenkins, Lock, Glaznieks, Bartram
AFC Coventry: Dugdale, Pattison, Gosal(c), Kandola, Glover, Gill, R.Sandhu, Bhayat, Dawoud, Sadiq, Rajab. Subs: Balde, A.Sandhu, Jeena, Kherallah, Safi

Ground Number: 366
Att: 
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A

After a great long weekend in France I was back on the road on Tuesday evening, heading up the M1 for the Final of the Leicestershire Senior League Tiger Bitter League Cup Final, to be played at Loughborough Dynamo's Newton Fallowell Stadium. From the details I managed to find on the web it appeared that, whatever the result, there would be a new name on the trophy. Neither Burbage & Huncote or Magna 73's name appears on any list of previous winners I could find (although this list may not be complete). Burbage, however, did grace the final as runners-up last season, under their previous name of Burbage Old Boys.
​
The Ground
The Final was being played at Loughborough Dynamo's home for the third consecutive season, a ground that I had not visited before. Dynamo play in the Northern Premier League Midlands Division (Step 4) and have a stadium that befits their league standing. The ground is situated to the South East of Loughborough in the suburb of Nanpantan, hence the its actual name of the Nanpantan Sports Ground. The football stadium is part of a multi-sport complex that also includes tennis, bowls, cricket and basketball. 

​There is a good-sized car park adjacent to the tennis club with further parking available on Watermead Lane, which runs alongside the football ground. The entrance, from Watermead Lane, is in the corner of the arena with the clubhouse and toilets directly in front of you, slightly raised above the playing surface, behind one of the goals. There is also covered seating running along half of this end of the ground, directly below the clubhouse. There is covered standing running down around a third of the right-hand side, as you look from the clubhouse end, backed by trees which separate the playing area from the adjoining cricket pitches and small-sided football pitches. The dugouts are situated on the Watermead Lane side.
​

​The Programme
The Leicestershire Senior Football League produced a single printed programme to cover both of their cup finals, the City Goldsmiths Presidents Trophy and the Tiger Bitter League Cup. priced at just a pound, it represented very good value in my opinion. All four clubs involved in the finals, Holwell Sports Reserves, Ashby Ivanhoe Knights, Burbage & Huncote and Magna 73, had two pages of the programme dedicated to them, including club histories, honours & statistics, as well as some player pen pictures. Both competitions also had a double page spread dedicated to past competitions and the route to this year's final. Add to this an entertaining centre spread of interesting football stories and you have plenty of half-time reading for only £1.

​The Background
The last two editions of the League Cup have been won by Allexton & New Parks, beating Burbage Old Boys 2-1 in last season's final. However, Burbage & Huncote, as they are now called, gained some revenge by defeating Allexton 3-2 in this season's semi-final last month, thanks mainly to a Connor Beasley hat-trick. Previous to the semi-final, Burbage had also disposed of Ellistown (5-0) in Round 2 and then hammered Hathern 6-2 i the Quarter-Final. Magna's trip to the final started a round earlier, in Roun1 where they thrashed Division Two side Loughborough, 6-0. They followed this with a 3-2 win over premier League Khalsa GAD. In the Quarter-Final Magna required penalties to beat Division One outfit Dunton & Broughton United, after a 1-1 draw. No need for penalties in the semi-final however, as they saw off another Premier League side, Highfield Rangers, by 3-0.
The league season is not quite over for either team. In fact, they stil have to play each other in the league, on Saturday at Magna's Meadow Sports Ground. As it stands, Burbage hold sway as far as league position is concerned, sitting sixth. A win in their final game woudl take them to fourth. A big win, by six goals woudl take them into third spot. Magna are currently in twelfth spot but are in no danger of dropping lower. A very big win (+8 goal swing) would take them over Khalsa GAD into eleventh. Earlier in the season the sides met at Huncote Sports Club. Two goals from Connor Beasley and one from Alex Mugglestone was enough to give the home side a 3-1 win. Wesley Johnson scored for Magna.

​The Game
After what was a bright start from both sides, it was Burbage who created the first real opportunity when a through ball split the Magna defence allowing Connor Beasley to run through. Spotting Ben Chapman off his line, the striker went for a lob from all of 40 yards but couldn't find enough elevation to beat the keeper. magna then created a chance of their own a few minutes later. Fin Thomas did well to make some room on the right-hand side of the box before sliding a ball across the six yard box. Jordan Creed, arriving at the far post, couldn't quite get enough on it, diverting the ball into the side netting. Something of a let-off for Burbage.
The clear cut chances then dried up somewhat but Magna continued to command the larger amount of possession, keeping the ball inside the Burbage half for prolonged periods. Burbage countered by playing a more direct style, trying to free up Graham, Beasley or Atkinson. This almost paid off in the 26th minute when a searching diagonal ball found James Graham clear on the right. he drove towards goal, unleashing a drive that Chapman did well to block, getting his angles spot on.
On the half-hour mark Burbage also had a small penalty shout when Beasley went over in the box. Contact looked fairly minimal. A view shared by the referee, who waved away the shouts. Three minutes later, however, Burbage took the lead against the general run of play. Cameron Atkinson did brilliantly on the left, beating his marked before driving a ball across the face of goal where the fast-arriving Mitchell Fairhurst met it with a volley to give Chapman no chance. 1-0.
Following the goal you could see the confidence levels rise in the Burbage ranks, and they set about trying to get a second goal. Atkinson had come alive too, once again causing issues on the left flank, this time crossing low for James Graham who saw his goal bound effort blocked. Magna tried to respond as well, but could only muster a Spencer Beck shot that didn't really trouble Crossley to any extent.

HT Burbage & Huncote 1 Magna 73 0. Burbage found themselves pushed back for much of the opening 30 minutes but defended well. Magna, as so often happens when a team doesn't score whilst on top, then conceded a goal against the run of play. Plenty to play for in the second period.

​Burbage came out of the blocks flying in the second period and so very nearly scored within a few seconds of the restart. JAmes Graham drove down the right before squaring to the unmarked Connor Beasley. The striker saw his initial shot blocked by Ben Chapman, his follow-up was then cleared by a combination of goalkeeper and a defender. A golden opportunity squandered. 
Burbage's top-scorer didn't have to worry for too long though. Four minutes into the second half his team doubled their advantage. Oddly, the goal originated from a Magna corner that saw captain Matt Howarth's header cleared off the Burbage line. They then broke very quickly, feeding the ball through to Cameron Atkinson who outpaced his marker, rounded Chapman and slid the ball into an empty net. 2-0. Five minutes later it really looked like game over as the pale blue shirts of Burbage were celebrating a third goal. A perfect free-kick delivery from the left flank was met by the head of captain Jody Green at the near post, giving Chapman no chance. 3-0.
Magna were rattled. They had been caught completely cold after the restart, conceding two quick goals that had effectively taking the game out of their grasp. It took them a while to rally but, after the hour mark they started to make more inroads. A free-kick from just outside the box on 63 minutes was rattled into the wall by Fin Thomas but, two minutes later, they did get a goal back. Initially it looked as if Crossley had averted the danger with a good save. However, he was only able to parry the ball and in the ensuing scramble, Matt Howarth was able to force the ball over the line. 3-1
Momentum suddenly moved in favour of Magna after the goal. Conversely, Burbage lost some of their sparkle and Magna sensed an opportunity. The Burbage defence were happy to clear the ball as far as possible, in a few cases over the stand or over the fence into the car park. This led to an odd situation in the 76thj minute when, after an other clearance went into the car park, fourth official John Carr was left with no spares in his bag. There was a small delay whilst a new match ball was found.
The break didn't phase Magna and, with ten minutes remaining, they set up the potential for a blistering finish with a second goal. Strike Fin Thomas was the scorer, receiving the ball inside the penalty area with his back to goal before spinning sharply and planting a low drive past Crossley. 3-2
Credit to Burbage at this point though. The expected onslaught from Magna never really transpired, mainly down to some very sound defending from Burbage, one or two more cars possibly got dents in the process but Pickering and green in particular, were taking no prisoners with their clearances.
Magna did create one more half chance for Thomas, but this time he coudl only fire wide of the target and, with that, the referee called time.

FT Burbage & Huncote 3 Magna 73 2. Congratulations to Burbage & Huncote who needed to dig deep both at the start of the game and certainly towards the end. When they did get their chances, they took them well. Credit also to Magna 73 who played a big part in making the final a great spectacle.
Although there is nothing much to play for in the league meeting on Saturday, it may well be worth watching the game. I'm sure Magna will want some revenge for their final defeat, and Burbage have the opportunity to finish in the top three or four with a win.

Burbage & Huncote: Crossley, Robinson, Armstrong, Green(c), Pickering, Selby, Graham, A.Mason, Beasley, Atkinson, Fairhurst. Subs: H.Mason, Mugglestone, Farren, King, Fox, Wileman, Bate
Magna 73: Chapman, Jones, Horne, Law, Howarth(c), Lee, Fielding, Slater, Thomas, Beck, Creed. Subs: Richmond, Yadav, Corcoran, Randall, Smith, Johnson, Simons

Ground Number: 365
Att: 223
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: N/A

This week saw a return to Tuesday evening football for me. There were a number of choices but after weighing up the options, I decided that a trip up the M1 to Nottinghamshire was on the cards. My destination, Cotgrave FC as they hosted second-placed, title-chasing Stapleford Town in the Nottinghamshire Senior League.
This was not my first taste of this league (I saw Borrowash Victoria take on Wollaton back in September - Vics Brace Leaves Wollaton Flagging) but it was going to be the first time I had seen either of these teams in action and a first time visit to Cotgrave.

The Ground
Cotgrave play their home games at The Cotgrave Welfare Club a multi-sport and community hub in the centre of the town, some 8 miles to the South-East of the City of Nottingham. The club, situated opposite the leisure centre, was built in the 1960s a the Miners' Welfare Club. Aside from the sports facilities, the club also has several bars, snooker rooms and entertainment suites. There is ample parking to the side of the club and a gate leading from the car park to the football pitches, of which there are two. The pitch nearest to the clubhouse is the one used by Cotgrave FC ad is surrounded by a low metal bar fence. There are dugouts on the clubhouse side of the pitch but no spectator cover is available around the playing area. However, just set back from the playing surface and slightly raised above pitch level, is the snack bar which does have a small veranda that would provide shelter in inclement weather whilst still providing a good view of the game. The pitch looked to be in pretty good condition especially given recent wet weather and it being so late in the season.

​The Background
The Nottinghamshire Senior League has been around since 2004-05 season, in which Cotgrave Colliery Welfare United were founder members. In the league's third season, after initially being dominated by Wollaton FC, Cotgrave Welfare took the title, their only one to date. This evening's opponents, Stapleford Town, were not founded until 2013 and appear to have entered the Senior League in the 2017-18 season, the year in which they won Division One. Stapleford then went on to take the Premier League title the following season, but not promoted, and were runners-up in the last campaign, finishing 4 points adrift of Southwell City. As an aside, the league has also been won by two teams with wonderfully exotic names, Caribbean Cavaliers (2008) and Bilborough Pelicans (2009). Sadly neither name appears in any of the divisions anymore. However, there is an FC Pelican in Division 2.

​There have been five previous Senior League meetings between the clubs. In the 2018-19 season Stapleford were awarded a home walkover but lost 3-0 at the Welfare Ground. the next two seasons were not completed. Last season saw a Stapleford double as they won both clashes 1-0. Earlier this season Stapleford won 5-1 with goals from Kieran Diver, Oskar Kruk, Aaron Large, Michael Robb and Lance Cunningham. Ryan Plummer getting the Cotgrave goal.
The situation going into this game, and one of the reasons I chose it, was that Stapleford sat in 2nd place, six points adrift of Keyworth United. However, United had already completed their season whereas Stapleford still had four games remaining. Consequently, Town required seven points (goal difference sat 6 in favour of Keyworth), to clinch the league title. Cotgrave sat in 13th spot after a topsy-turvy season. However, they were already well clear of the relegation places, safe in mid-table and fresh off the back of a good 2-0 win at Clifton.

​The Game
In front of what looked to be a decent sized crowd it was Stapleford, in the change kit of pale blue and white stripes, who looked to settle the quicker. However, the first close call went the way of the home side. Stapleford, trying to play out form the back, were put under pressure by a high Cotgrave press. When the ball was fed back towards goalkeeper Danny Brown, Shaun Jackson was just a whisker away from getting to the ball ahead of the stopper.
With just under 15 minutes gone, Town midfielder Oskar Kruk demonstrated a nice piece of skill, pulling down a high ball before juggling it to create a space and fire wide. Stapleford were beginning to wind up the pressure on the home defence but, as yet, neither keeper had been forced to get their knees dirty.
The visitors were showing some nice interplay in midfield but were not quite firing in the final third, partially down to a well organised and solid looking Cotgrave defence. The some side, however, were not offering to much in way of forward play. Jackson was pretty much ploughing a lone farrow up front and, despite the striker offering a good deal of movement, the Stapleford defence were under very little pressure. This, in turn, was allowing them to play their wing-backs very high up the field, keeping the pressure on the home side.
All that said, Stapleford had not managed to stretch Matt Benton in the Cotgrave goal until the final few minutes of the half. With four minutes to go until the break, Joe Airey did brilliantly to collect the ball and break down the right flank, outstripping his marker to get in a dangerous cross that was met on the volley by Surafel Tefera, only for his shot to flash wide of Benton's left-hand post. Then, just on 45 minutes, Benton finally got called into serious action, producing a good stop to prevent Aaron Large from giving the visitors a half-time lead.

HT Cotgrave 0 Stapleford Town 0. Stapleford well on top in terms of possession but struggling to break down the Cotgrave defence.

​The second half started quite scrappily with neither side able to find any kind of rhythm. However, this broken play seemed to suit the home side better than their visitors. Cotgrave started to show more adventure than in the first half and the pace of Jacob Elliott looked to be a particular threat. Twice the striker burst down the right side and both times only last ditch defending prevented him from getting in a strike on goal.
With only 10 minutes gone in the second half the Stapleford bench had seen enough. They needed the points and a draw, although not the end of the world, was not what they had come here looking for. They made a couple of early changes, including substituting captain Michael Robb, who walked straight off, past the bench into the changing rooms, obviously not happy to have to go off. 
The changes for Stapleford started to swing the game back in their favour. Just past the hour mark, Benton was a gain at his best, making a great stop to keep out one of the substitutes, Riley Phillips. The home keeper was having a good game, having already made two or three good stops to keep Stapleford out. However, three minutes later, Benton could not hang onto a powerful strike and when the ball ran loose, Dan Sterling was quickest to react, driving the ball back past Benton to make it 0-1.
Less than 2 minutes later the visitors effectively sewed it up. Lvarn Brandy, who had looked very lively since coming on, went on a run across the face of the penalty area. The ball eventually went loose and there was Dan Sterling again, driving a curling effort around Benton from the edge of the penalty area. Great strike. 0-2.
It's fair to say that Lvarn Brandy and Riley Phillips had made a large impact since coming off the bench. Their direct running and extra pace in the attack had unsettled the home defence and allowed Sterling to benefit with two goals inside 90 seconds.

FT Cotgrave 0 Stapleford Town 2. A good effort from Cotgrave who frustrated Stapleford for large parts of the game. However, the visitors showed their title potential and found a way to win the game. The result leaves Cotgrave in 13th spot. On Saturday they travel to third-placed Sandiacre Town in the final game for both teams. Neither team can move up or down, whatever the result. Meanwhile, Stapleford now sit just three points below Keyworth United with three games remaining. Tomorrow (Thursday) they travel to Ravenshead. Then, on Saturday the same opponents are the visitors to Hickings Lane where the title could possibly be confirmed. They finish their league campaign away to Aslockton & Orston on Saturday May 13th. In between these last two league games there's also the small matter of Notts FA Senior Trophy Final against Keyworth United, who may have just had the league title taken away from them by Stapleford. That could be an interesting game.
Finally, did anyone actually read this far and, if they did, did anyone get the reference to a 1960s TV show in the blog title, or am I just amusing myself?

Cotgrave: Benton, Burdett, Harry Adlam-Wood, Bacon(c), Hopkinson, Robertson, Larcombe, Henry Adlam-Wood, Elliott, Jackson, Burrows. Subs: Kerslake, Jenkinson, Yorke, Flint 
Stapleford Town: Brown, Bird, Cassidy, Ball, Sterling, Howes, Kruk, Tefera, Large, Robb(c), Airey. Subs: Brandy, Hudson, Phillips, Elson

Ground Number: 364
Att: 
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A