!!! Under 11 A's Win 2007 League Cup !!!

 
Harrow Youth Football League - Under 11s Cup Final 2007
At Ealsfield Stadium, Harrow Borough FC

Pitshanger FC 3  v  1  LNER St Georges

- After extra time

- Full time score 1-1

Goals:  Devaughn Williams (3)

Starting team

Jack Oubridge (GK)
Liam Thomas

Nadiesh Enock-Gill (Captain)

William Taylor

Jeremy Lochead
Stefan Walecki

Nico Campbell

Raj Sandhu

Jordan 'JJ' Ivey

Devaughn Williams
Dylan Hern

Subs

Dominic Davies (for Dylan Hern 38th min)

Thomas Harris (for Jordan Ivey 42nd min)

Jake Andersen (for Jeremy Lochead 56th min)

Unavailable (but VIP in the cup run and Players' Player of the Year) Aashish Kharas

Match Report by Rob Oubridge

Pitshanger manager, Brian Lochead had almost a full squad to pick from with only the influential Aashish Kharas unavailable, and it looked a strong team in all areas with all the players in their strongest positions in an albeit slightly defensive  4-5-1 formation.

Having disposed of league champions and otherwise undefeated Spartans in the semi-final, and beaten LNER twice in the league season, Pitshanger may have thought their biggest threat on the day would be complacency, but, LNER quickly showed that they were well drilled and very determined to win.

The teams emerged from the tunnel to a cheering reception, LNER in black and red and Pitshanger in their change strip of white shirts with black shorts.  The handshakes were completed and the scene was set; Pitshanger kicked off.

The match started at an urgent pace with a swift exchange of attacking moves thwarted by strong defending. Jack cleared up an early LNER through ball and at the other end Dylan and Dev both took defenders on a chase but neither could get into the area and the crosses were cleared.  After 5 minutes, pressure on the right wing from LNER saw their No.12 receive a short pass about 25 yards out and 15 yards in from the touchline - he hit it first time and it flew high and direct into the opposite top corner; literally unstoppable.  1 v 0 to LNER.

An ecstatic LNER now had their teeth into the game and it was clear that if Pitshanger were going to win the cup there would be a very hard fight ahead. As the first half progressed, Pitshanger had more of the attacking play but by no means kept the opposition at bay totally.  William and Liam made successive clearances with headers and volleys while Nico and Stefan provided the midfield impetus to start forward moves and play through balls to set Dylan and Dev in behind the LNER defence.  Chances came as Stefan played Nico through and he held off the defender on a run before his shot was just tipped wide by an outstretched keeper.  Dev got away on the left a couple more times and put in great crosses, Dylan just failing to get on the end of one of them.  JJ was becoming the link in midfield that Pitshanger often miss and his distribution to Raj and Jeremy kept the pressure in the LNER half for spells.  LNER made several good breaks towards the end of the half and caused a little defensive confusion once or twice. On 20 minutes an LNER cross/shot looked like it might find a spare striker on the opposite side of the area but Jack was there in time with a foot to deflect the danger.  Play was stopped for several minutes just before half time when Jeremy put his body on the line in defensive action and paid the price, taking a hefty whack.  Just before the whistle it was again LNER on the attack and Jack had to tip away a looping cross for a corner.  Half time - 1 v 0 to LNER.

The teams emerged from the tunnel for the second half having probably had quite different team talks and whatever the managers had said, both must have found the words to drive their teams onto another half of scintillating, virtually error free football.

Brian changed back to a more attacking 3-4-3 to try and put the LNER defence under greater pressure and Jeremy was moved up (formally) to left midfield leaving Liam, Nadiesh and William to patrol the back.

Pitshanger were the first to create pressure with two through balls from Jeremy getting Dev in the clear only for the LNER keeper to bravely come out to clear. Further, Pitshanger created  more opportunities with Nico and Jordan shooting wide and Dylan getting caught narrowly offside when through on goal.

Then Dev pounced on a rare poor goal kick by the LNER keeper and this time there was no time for the otherwise resilient defence to react as he took a bee-line for the goal and slid the ball under calmly under the advancing goalie to equalise - 1 v 1.

The goal was fair reward for a keen start by the trailing team and the pressure continued with William and Nadiesh dominating anything that resembled an LNER threat.  The heading and passing in defence from these two and Liam and Raj was superb and for a while Pitshanger were the better team, Jeremy, and Nico building clever attacks down the wings on the big pitch, trying to release Dev, Dylan and breaking midfielders. Dominic Davies replaced Dylan on 8 minutes.

LNER fought back hard and gained encouragement when a free kick from the right led to a scramble in the area.  Liam and Jeremy cleared off the line in quick succession and Dev finally cleared the danger.  12 minutes into the second half Thomas Harris replaced Jordan and seemed to take up a third central defender spot with Liam able to get forward for attacks.  Nico made a right sided break on 15 minutes and shot wide as the game began to see-saw from end to end, the players tiring on the large pitch but somehow finding the energy and determination for successive attacks.  With four minutes left, Jake Andersen replaced Jeremy who had suffered a few more brutal fouls,  and took up the right midfield position.

With a couple of minutes left of regular time, LNER attacked on the left wing and a high cross was caught by Jack at full stretch but bobbled free under pressure from two LNER strikers, Jack taking a kick to the hip in the ensuing scramble but managing to clear with the help of Jake and William.  The whistle for full time went moments after a Pitshanger attack saw a terrific run and cross down the right wing by Nico which Dev tipped just wide at full stretch running in.  Full time - 1 v 1.

The classic on pitch team talks ensued with both managers vigorously urging their troops on for 10 minutes each way of extra time.  The first half of extra time saw the players maintain the pace and commitment of the first hour and while Pitshanger had most of the play, the LNER defence kept everything covered and Dominc, Dev and Nico were all thwarted in and around the area when they looked like getting a shot in.

A minute into the second half of extra time Dev got the break through goal from a superb move started in the midfield by Raj after Nadiesh had won the ball on the edge of the area. Raj turned the play in midfield and fed in Stefan who played a killer low pass through the defensive line for Dev coming in from the left wing just over the half way line.  Dev swooped onto the ball but still had to weave passed two defenders as he got to the bye line 12 yards from goal on the left. After crossing the ball all day he suddenly cut back into the area and flicked the ball over the goalkeeper with the outside of his left foot. Two defenders scrambling back to the line couldn't prevent the ball crossing the line and half of the main stand erupted as Pitshanger finally took the lead in the game. 2 v 1 to Pitshanger.

With 9 minutes to go against a very committed and athletic LNER team there was sure to be more chances and the Pitshanger team certainly knew from Brian's touchline animation that there could be no let up from his players.  Immediately, Brian went all Italian again and reverted to 4-5-1 with Jake dropping back into right back. However, if anything the goal put new life into tired Pitshanger legs and chances fell to Dominic and Nico in the next few minutes. Dominic's fresher legs and busy style certainly helped to keep the action in the LNER half.

With 5 minutes to go Liam was very close to meeting a cross from Nico but the keeper just held onto the ball in a scramble on the six yard line. LNER managed to rally a final onslaught and dragged play back into the Pitshanger half, pressing down the left wing mainly. Jake and William were dogged in their tracking and blocking the when the ball finally got crossed into the centre, Thomas was covering and he volleyed a clearance from the edge of the box clear over the defenders' heads on the half way line. Dev was quickest to react and it became a drag race, Dev in the lead with the ball and the LNER defence desperately trying to chase him down right up the centre of the pitch. Dev's touch was faultless and his speed unbeatable - he went straight at the keeper at full tilt and then calmly slotted a low ball into the corner from around the penalty spot.  3 v 1 to Pitshanger.

The tension in the stands exploded into joy at one end of the 'shed' and withered into disbelief at the other.  In the final minute, Dom tore around the LNER box to prevent any possibility of a late revival and hit the bar with a superb shot from the edge of the area as the seconds counted down. It would have been harsh on LNER had the ball gone in as they certainly would not have deserved to lose by three goals.

The final whistle saw the ecstatic Pitshanger squad celebrate on the pitch as their dejected opponents tried to take solace from the credit both sets of fans showed them for their performance.  The players were all applauded by the enthusiastic crowd as they collected their trophy medals on the pitch and Nadiesh crowned the season, the cup run, the day out, and a fantastic match, by lifting the cup for Pitshanger.

Man of the Match - ??  It would be hard to say that any Pitshanger played other than their very best games today.  Jack's handling was unerring and his kicking excellent which was important on the big pitch - Nadiesh and William were totally dominant in central defence and were never overrun, putting in more headers in this game than the whole first half of the season. Jeremy and Liam played the gruelling role of wing back superbly getting up and down the pitch and always being where they were needed and Liam is showing he is a fantastic header of the ball.  Jordan and Raj won the engine room battle in midfield and brilliantly used their options in releasing the forwards or setting play up through Stefan and Nico who injected the extra creativity which eventually led to our goals.  Up front, Dylan and then Dominic turned the LNER defence and ran them ragged and Dominic was very unlucky not to score in extra time.  When Jake and Thomas came on they were on the pace straight away in this massive and furious game.. Thomas was again faultless and played the killer ball for the winning goal.  Dev did everything Dev does, despite coming up against one of the best defences in coping with his particular form of explosive football - a hat trick in the cup final two weeks after shaking Geoff Hurst's hand - and Dev played a great game for the team today.

Having said all that, I am reliably informed that, away from the pitch, as the team celebrated nearly behind closed doors in the changing rooms, Brian praised the whole team but singled out Jack ("you kept us in the game when we were struggling") , Raj ("what a commanding performance in midfield winning every 50/50") and of course hat-trick hero Dev "Sir Geoff" Williams who ultimately won the game for us.

It would be easy to forget that Brian has been managing the team for little over half a season.  He has taken on what Paul started and today, as has been hinted at in the last quarter of the season, Pitshanger were a team where every player looked like a specialist in his position and the commitment, effort and skilled interplay made for a complete, polished performance and a peak of performance at the final, critical moment.

The team and the management can now enjoy the glow of worthy achievement and start realising that whilst youth football is all about having fun, winning ain't too bad either!! And Pitshanger are blessed to have a great bunch of boys at this age group who can continue to improve and win more honours in future.

It's time to say goodbye to Michael, Dominic and Thomas and to welcome Liam, Duncan and no doubt a couple of others. The 14 boys today (+ Aashish who was away but who is our Players' Player of the Year) have set the benchmark and have sampled the incredible experience and feeling of winning a major honour - there is no reason why we cannot challenge Parkfield and Spartans next year in all competitions and get closer and closer to them.

Have a good summer and THE FUTURE IS ORANGE!!!

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