Under 15’s Referees Cup Final
Aylesbury Vale 3 – Long Crendon Youth 5
Marlow FC hosted the final of the Referees Cup last night (Tuesday).
Vale, playing towards the setting sun started well finding space & making a break. Chris Hawes slotting the ball towards the top left corner that was palmed away by keeper Matt Ricketts. But Crendons reply was strong & controlled, stretching the play across the pitch. An awarded corner to Long Crendon provided a powerful shot at goal. Vale keeper Gary Bidgway managed to block the attempt & the ball was put out to & picked up by the Crendon midfield, Ryan Scott dodging through the Vale mid & defence to plant the ball in goal. The Crendon assault continued for several minutes with neat short passes & advances keeping the Vale defence working at maximum. At 23 minutes Long Crendon overcame the defence once more with Joe Russell adding his name to the score sheet. The “never say die” Vale attitude was in full flow & Luca Forchione reduced the deficit after a string of short passes only 2 minutes later. Vale took a break along the left wing; a battle for possession & a series of challenges saw Forchione emerge with a lob from 25yds out that fell into the top right corner & brought the scores all square into the break.
Long Crendon started quickly again; an awarded free kick passed over the heads of the forwards & fell to the left of the Vale goal. Ryan Scott found the space to turn the ball back into the net putting them a goal clear again. A battle for possession kept the game moving at a pace & a switch from left to right gave Scott another blast at target but he swung the ball out left of the post. Midway through the half Vale got another break through the middle of the field; pushing the ball left to Nathan Scarfe who having stretched the defence out switched the ball out to Pat Hurst as he came in from the right wing. Hurst tipped the ball forward & Hawes coming through the centre finished off cleanly. Crendon responded with a break to the centre-left, the strike was palmed away by Bidgway. Another push in the Vale half moved inside the 18yd box & an unfortunate error forced an OG. A few minutes to recompose & Vale were set to put the scores back level again. Forchione starting from the centre put the ball left once again for Scarfe; he took the ball forward & swung it towards the far post where Hawes was heading at speed. Hawes connected cleanly & with ferocity but the ball struck the left post & although Scarfe managed to retrieve, the defence strengthened to their prior error & the threat passed. As the game moved into stoppage time a push through into the Vale end gave the defence its final shaking. A blocked shot that left Bidgway at ground level, a loose ball for Scott to slot away putting Crendon out of reach. The dying seconds of the game gave a final glimmer the Vale boys’ attitude & commitment. A free kick awarded to them was received by Tom Grantham who sadly hooked the ball just left of the post.
Well done Vale. You put in a truly magnificent perfomance & there should be no shame from the result.
The league title is still firmly in your sights & a Cup title awaits you next season I'm sure.
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