Matthew Martin . . .

What A Final

Some major cup finals of late have been dour affairs. Cast your mind back to Wembley last season when Manchester United and Chelsea contested the FA Cup final that went into extra time and was dangerously close to a penalty shootout. The match was dour with few chances falling to either side and nobody really going for it. Some supporters having paid in the region of £90 to watch it. However my faith in cup finals was restored last night when I ventured down to the Tameside Stadium, home of Unibond Division 1 North side Curzon Ashton, to watch the Vodkat Challenge Cup final between Maine Road of NWCFL 1 and Bootle of NWCFL 2.

With both sides now having no other chance for silverware this season after Bootle lost the NWCFL Division 2 Trophy Final to Kirkham and Wesham, on paper this match had the potential to be a classic. However it did not start as such as on a pitch heavily affected by a very sharp and short rainstorm, the 1st half failed to deliver the classic that was hoped for. Maine Road took the lead as early as the 7th minute when Danny Self shot past the Bootle keeper to spark celebrations both on the pitch and in the stands largely dominated by Maine Road supporters. The rest of the half was a stale affair with not a lot to offer. Livened up right on the halftime whistle when Bootle equalised. No Maine Road defender guarded the back post and Bootle’s Jamie Hay took advantage to head the Merseyside team level. A goal, in my opinion that was to make the 2nd half what is was.

I contemplated at half time what the goal would do for the match. Maine Road would have to start from scratch after taking their foot off the pedal when taking the lead. As such they started the 2nd half much as they had the 1st. A cross into the box in the 51st minute saw the ball evade the defence and fall to the feet of Smith 8 yards out, making no mistake in sending the ball past the keeper into the corner of the net when the Bootle defence switched off. This opened the game up as Bootle went out for the equaliser and Maine Road went to kill the game. Great chances and some exciting and nervy football was played by both sides as, but Bootle got their equaliser in the 75th minute when after Maine Road keeper Greg Hall saved the initial shot well, Kevin Black was on hand to turn the ball into the net to bring Bootle level. As the match neared the 90th minute and 4 minutes of injury time began, both teams had great chances to win the match, Bootle firing over the bar and Maine Road clattering the Bootle keeper, having the ball hit the inside of the post and roll agonisingly along the line before being cleared by the alert Bootle defender. So to the extra time we went.

Extra time was conducted by two teams that wanted the trophy badly and this was apparent in the state of play. There were no real “big” chances, but the keepers were being tested from range on a difficult surface. Both stood up the challenge however with some impressive saves and some very safe hands. The inevitable penalties came around. As the players shook hands on the field come the final whistle, they knew there was still a job to do. From the fans surrounding me, it was clear nobody was satisfied with the penalties conclusion, one fan stating “it’s a shame one team will lose in this manner, because neither deserve to”. I couldn’t have agreed more. But it was to the spot we went and as it turned out, it was one of those shootouts where only one player missed. The worst kind for that particular individual. As it was, after 3 successful penalties for Maine Road and 2 for Bootle, the Bootle lad stepped up and had his effort saved by the keeper. Nobody else missed, including the winning kicker, when the keeper went the right way, got everything behind the ball, but it deflected from his gloves, over his body and into the net to cue the celebrations for the Maine Road players, and the Bootle players to console the understandably devastated goalkeeper. Poor Bootle, who you can’t help but feel sorry for, two finals and two defeats, but gracious in defeat and one hell of a team on the field who stood up to their higher division opponents and gave a very good account of themselves indeed.

What a cup final, a great match played by two very good teams in a very good stadium, but in not so great conditions. This didn’t take anything away from the match though as the victory left with the spoils and the losers returned empty handed. This was cup football at its best and this is why I love it so. Definitely in the earlier rounds of a competition, but with my faith in cup finals now restored, I might have to venture down to one or 2 more of them.

For Video Highlights of the final, please visit our Videos page here.

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