Wilmott Cup
Quarter Final
Mells & Vobster United Reserves 1 Westfield Reserves 1
Saturday, 18 March 2006
This Willmott cup Quarter-Final was always going to be a close affair with both sides on long unbeaten runs and with both sides having hopes on promotion but something had to give and it was only the dreaded penalties that could separate the 2 sides after 2hrs of pulsating football.
The match began and for the first half an hour the game became a midfield battle with neither side gaining the upper hand though Westfield having the gusty wind in their favour were seeing more of the ball but the final pass was going astray at regular intervals with the windy conditions doing neither side any real favours.
For the last 15mins of the half Westfield really pushed for the opening goal with Longdon, Avis , Lake and Bridges driving Westfield forward at every opportunity but Mells were defending well and they held firm until halftime.
Mells having the wind helping them now started the 2nd half brightly but within 10 mins of the start of the half Westfield took the lead when Bridges using his pace outsprinted the Mells defence and then superbly finished past the oncoming Mells keeper.
With Westfield 1-0 up Mells really pushed for the equalizer but Tucker in the Westfield goal was marshalling his defence well and despite Mells having the wind the longer the game went on the more frustrated they became and tempers became flared as the match exploded into life.
With Mells pushing for the equalizer Westfield looked to hit them on the break and on a couple of occasions they maybe should have increased their lead but it wasn?t to be.
With 15mins of the match left Westfield forced a corner but from the resulting corner the Mells goalie quickly cleared the ball as far as he could down the pitch and with the bounce catching the previously impressive Cooke in 2 minds the Mells forward nipped in and finished past the on coming Tucker for the equalizer for Mells and you could hear the sigh of relief from the Mells spectators all the way back up to Coleford because despite having the wind in their favour Mells were struggling with it as Westfield were in the 1st half creating many real chances in front of goal.
The last 15 mins of the game went from end to end with both sides going for the winner but with both defences firmly on top chances were few and far between with Westfield through West-gaul whose shot was cleared off the line and Lake forcing the keeper into a fine save maybe having the best 2 but after 90mins the teams remained locked at 1-1.
Extra time started and with both sides having players going down with cramp the game became a bit of a midfield scrap though Westfield really should have taken the lead when Lines carved through the Mells defence only to miss the bobbling ball altogether at the vital moment when it looked easier to score than miss, then 2mins later at the other end the Mells sub struck the post from 25yds. The rest of the half became a bit of a stalemate as both sides continued to shut each other out.
The 2nd period of extra time followed much the same pattern as the 1st and with time virtually up the only real chance of the half fell to West-gaul after some good work from Lake but his shot somehow cannoned back off the Mells bar and to safety so the game had to be decided on the dreaded penalties which Mells finally won after that also went into sudden death with the 2 sides still locked together after the first 5 penalties each in a ΒΌ final that really would have made a great final between 2 well matched sides but good luck to Mells in the next round.
MOM:Simon Avis
Neil Cradock
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