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Year 8 – London Cup, Final
June 2009
Bow School 0 – 3 Cardinal Vaughn
Finally, this game is upon us. Ever since winning the semi-final in such dramatic fashion, the boys from Bow have been chomping at the bit to get this game going and after a search for a suitable venue, the game got the go-ahead.
The final was more than just a game, it was an event. At the end of lunch the boys got together and were presented with their personalised tracksuits; they posed for pictures with Ms Dobson and set off towards Leyton Orient. The boys arrived at the West stand and reception of the 10,000 capacity stadium and were taken to the director’s area to view the ground – an impressive sight that definitely put them in the mood to play!
3.30pm rolled on, time to start focusing on the game in hand. Tactics were discussed in the changing room and then out to warm-up on the pitch.
Seconds before the teams came out of the tunnel, the Bow fan club arrived; fronted by a large group of very vocal teachers, who in turn were led by the crowd ringmaster Ms Davis. There were approximately 150 people attending this final, which, according to the London cup organisers, is a record. Although, impressively they made the noise of at least three times that!
The game started very evenly, both teams were adjusting to the large pitch and trying to ensure they didn’t concede a goal too early on. Cardinal Vaughn started confidently, moving the ball forward as quickly as possible with a lot of play down their left wing. However, the Bow right sided players; Harry Wright and Jay Trench were standing firm, being excellently supported by the impressive Paul Reader. Bow were struggling to get into the game as an attacking influence in the early exchanges except for a few individual glimpses from Thomas Gogo and a neat interchange from Harry Wright and Paul Reader. 20 minutes in and no real chances for either team to speak of, the defensive pair of Tyrone Auguste and Darien Williams looked troubled but solid with good support from Callum Kerr in midfield. The next ten minutes started to see the game opening up, Bow made their first change giving a rest to Kayn Bicknell and replacing him with the Duracell bunny that is Mitu Miah! Both teams were now starting to threaten at either end and the increased excitement was reflected in the highly vocal support from Bow fans. It was becoming clear that Cardinal Vaughn’s major threat lay in their centre forward – a quicksilver lad who was starting to cause big problems for the defence; if it wasn’t for goalkeeper Jamie Burnett, Bow would definitely have been one goal down by now.
Then with five minutes remaining of the first half, it happened. 1-0 to Cardinal Vaughn. The main danger-man gained two yards of space during a quick Cardinal counter attack and when one-on-one with Jamie Burnett he coolly slotted the ball home, good finish. If only Bow could have held on until half-time!
Half-Time
The atmosphere in the Bow changing room was deflated; however, the boys still believed they had a chance. They understood that the way to get back into this was hard work and commitment; they needed to be more ambitious in attack. Two changes were made, Jay Trench and Harry Wright were replaced by James Holland-Malcolm and Oliver Cox and they changed their formation to 4-4-2.
The second half started with Bow storming out of the blocks. They seemed be running with an extra yard of pace and when they had the ball they were pushing forward with more purpose, asking more questions of the excellent Cardinal defence. With ten minutes gone in the second half, the highly influential Thomas Gogo picked the ball up near the half way line and started a determined run; as he picked up the pace, you could hear the anticipation in the crowd. His jinking run brought him to the edge of the area and he unleashed a right foot drive which looked destined for the bottom corner until the goalkeeper stretched out a left hand and pushed it around the post – corner. Could that be the spur Bow needed to push on? At this stage Bow made a change, bringing Kayn Bicknell back on at left back which moved the lightning quick Dejaun Stewart-Richards into left wing.
Bow continued to push hard for a goal but Cardinal stood firm and were starting to look more and more dangerous on the break. Bow were starting to increase the corner count as the pressure increased and with 15 minutes left it was clear that the next goal was going to be crucial, but which defence were going to buckle first? Then, with ten minutes remaining, a long Cardinal clearance fell into the open space of Bow’s half and the danger-man won the race to the ball before calmly driving the ball past Jamie, 2-0, excellent finish again by the Cardinal striker.
The second goal was tough to take, especially considering the impressive efforts of the Bow team, many teams would have given up at that stage. Much to the credit of the boys on the pitch, and our supporters, nobody stopped. Those in the stands kept cheering and those on the pitch kept chasing every pass, making every tackle and doing everything they could to chase a goal. As the game came to a finish Bow were doing all they could to get something and then with the last attack of the game Cardinal got a corner; from this a goal mouth scramble ensued, which led to a scrappy and tired-looking third goal, 3-0 fulltime.
Star player: On this occasion I couldn’t single one boy out, a great attitude throughout the team and I have been immensely proud to see the team do so well – they did themselves and the school proud.