Red Velvet Lift the Kent Junior Cup B!
Red Velvet Lift the Kent Junior Cup B!
RED VELVET FC 1-1 LITTLEBOURNE FC (RED VELVET WON 4-3 ON PENALTIES)
It would be hard to top the first final of the day, but the game between Red Velvet FC and Littlebourne FC managed to do it and it ended in dramatic fashion as penalties was the only thing that could decide who the winner was!
Littlebourne got us underway for the Junior Cup B Final and almost scored within the first ten minutes! A mistake at the back allowed Robbie Loomer to have a crack but Jack Rankin kept the shot out on the 6th minute. Littlebourne were then awarded a free kick on the 7th minute which was in a promising position. Edward Johnson floated the ball in, but Velvet were able to clear the ball out with ease.
Velvet then pushed forward with a chance of their own coming to Jack Carthy after a searching ball picked him out. Carthy managed to bring the ball down but a heavy touch allowed the ball to run into the defence on the 13th minute. Velvet then got another chance on the 16th minute when some good play allowed Ozzie Hassan to play in a cross, but his cross was way too heavy to find anyone.
Velvet continued to push on with this attacking play style which almost payed off on the 25th minute when some lovely play between Scott Guchard and Carthy allowed Carthy to get in on goal but his shot created a comfortable save for Jamie Cheeseman. Carthy continued to search for the goal he was looking for and nearly got it when a powerful shot from him forced Cheeseman to make a wonderful save on the 34th minute.
Littlebourne then had a chance of their own when they got a free kick. The ball came into the box and caused a little bit of chaos for the Velvet defence as the ball got deflected towards the keeper, but Rankin was able to recover the ball. But then, Velvet finally took the lead when Carthy found the back of the net for the goal he was continually searching for. It was a great goal from Carthy as he squeezed through the defence and ran onto the perfect through ball. He then finished his run with an exquisite ‘outside the boot’ effort which nestled into the back of the net on the 38th minute!
Velvet then almost got another one when a free kick came into the box. Guchard flicked it on to find another Velvet shirt but Cheeseman stopped the shot on the 40th minute. Velvet then had the perfect chance to make it two on the brink of half time when Carthy got one on one with Cheeseman. This time Carthy was unselfish and squared it across, but his pass just didn’t have enough pace to run through to his attacking reinforcement as it ran straight through to Cheeseman instead.
Piotr Zachweija then blew his whistle to bring the first half to an end, leaving Littlebourne fans wondering if they could get back into the game.
Velvet kicked off the second half and with quick fashion as they almost scored straight away! Carthy almost squeezed a shot in to the bottom corner but a great save from Cheeseman kept Velvet from going two ahead on the 46th minute. Littlebourne then almost equalized on the 49th minute as a good opportunity opened up but the final shot was scuffed, leading to an easy save for Rankin.
Velvet saw this opportunity and deemed it too risky as they went to put the game to bed on the 55th minute with a curling effort from Guchard. However, Cheeseman was able to make the save, keeping Littlebourne within a chance! Velvet then got another chance after a great ball in picks out Joe Farrow in the box, but his header was too soft to cause any trouble.
Littlebourne then took the ball up the other end. Robbie Loomer pushed forward and marched straight through the Velvet defence. He then got one on one with Rankin who rushed out to meet Loomer, but Loomer was smart and chipped the ball over Rankin to give Littlebourne a certain equalizer on the 66th minute! However, Velvet looked to make this equalizer look unnecessary when they got a penalty on the 74th minute! Dan Akers stepped up to take full responsibility of putting his team ahead, but Cheeseman tipped the ball onto the bar! The rebound then fell back to Akers but Cheeseman again managed to keep it out!
Velvet then pushed for the goal that would definitely give them the win and on the 85th minute, they almost got it when Lee McCarron tried an outside the boot shot but it just flew wide.
Piotr Zachweija then blew his whistle as both teams got ready for an extra thirty minutes of extra time, leading fans wondering who would come out on top or would the game have to be settled the old-fashioned way with penalties?
The first half of extra time got underway, but nothing happened as both teams struggled to get into their opposition's half! The second half proved better as both teams realised that they needed to get a goal as both sets of fans continued to motivate their teams to get one. However, Velvet got the closest chance on the 107th minute when Carthy’s chance from a tight angle just whistled past the post.
The sound of the whistle then brought a nervous tension across everyone in The Gallagher Stadium as it was time for the dreaded penalty shoot-out!
Red Velvet were the first team to take a penalty and it was Dan Tivey who stepped up to take the first penalty. Tivey maintained a cool head and slotted his shot into the bottom left giving Velvet a 1-0 lead. It was then Littlebourne’s turn and it was captain Daniel Wells who stepped up for his team. Just like Tivey, Wells put his penalty into the bottom left and scored. The next set of penalties were both scored with Velvet’s penalty being scored by Scott Guchard and Littlebourne’s being scored by Scott Lawford to make it 2-2.
Jack Carthy then stepped up to make it 3-2 in Velvet’s favour. It was then down to Luke Foster to score to keep Littlebourne equal, but Jack Rankin guessed the right way, meaning Jason Dolby had the chance to win the game for Velvet! Dolby stepped up and took the shot, but Jack Cheeseman stopped the shot! Lewis Fitchie then scored to put Littlebourne ahead and then Velvet’s Lee McCarron’s penalty was saved, meaning Jack Parr had the chance to win it for Littlebourne.
However, Parr’s stylish penalty hit the post! Velvet then had to score, and Wes Markley stepped up and did score. Josh Baker then had to score for Littlebourne but sadly for Littlebourne, Jack Rankin guessed the right was and saved it, meaning Velvet ran out as victors by winning 4-3 on penalties!
Both teams were incredible today but only one could win and it’s very sad that the winner had to be decided via a dramatic and cruel fashion! However, there can only be one winner and today’s winner was Red Velvet FC who won their first final out of the three they have achieved so far this season!
Red Velvet FC: Jack Rankin, Dan Akers, Les Fashola, Jason Dolby, Dan Tivey, Dave Sells, Ozzie Hassan, Sam Hawkins (Captain), Scott Guchard, Gary Woolard, Jack Carthy.
Subs: All Subs were used via the revolving sub system.
Subs: Liam Winchcombe, Joe Farrow, Wes Markley, Lee McCarron and Charlie Munnery.
Penalty Takers: Dan Tivey (GOAL), Scott Guchard (GOAL), Jack Carthy (GOAL), Jason Dolby (SAVED), Lee McCarron (SAVED) and Wes Markley (GOAL).
Littlebourne FC: Jamie Cheeseman, Alex Cooper, Shaun Loomer, Scott Lawford, Tony Huggins, Josh Baker, Daniel (Bert) Wells (Captain), Edward Johnson, Ieuan Morgan, Liam Blackwell, Robbie Loomer.
Subs: All Subs were used via the revolving sub system.
Subs: Will Watton, Lewis Fitchie, Luke Foster, Josh Starr and Jack Parr.
Penalty Takers: Daniel (Bert) Wells (GOAL), Scott Lawford (GOAL), Luke Foster (SAVED), Lewis Fitchie (GOAL), Jack Parr (MISSED) and Josh Baker (SAVED).
Player of The Match: Jack Carthy (Red Velvet FC)
Referee: Piotr Zachweija
Match Assistants: Andy (Norman) King and Kieran Cox.
Fourth Official: Peter Layne.