A real game of two halves and had here been another 10 minutes or so of play there was probably only one team that would have won it and it wasn't the team in green.
The game started so well and Jorge finished with real panache inside two minutes of play. Picking up the ball in the wide left position he hit an improbable shot with the outside of his right foot that flew into the top right corner. An excellent strike and 1-0. With a goal scored this fast we could be forgiven for thinking it was going to be a formality. Our second goal was hit into the same corner and was a rare goal for Lewis. He sent his free kick from barely inside our half flying forward with the keeper only able to palm it over his head and into the top corner. 2-0. Although 2 goals up we were struggling for fluency and not creating the chances that our possession deserved. There was space out wide but we were unable to exploit it. With Blues defending stoutly it was increasingly difficult. Our third goal came from some wing play. Luca driving into the box and finishing well from a tight angle.
The second half was a completely different story. The Blues pulled one back from a penalty after Tom instinctively used his hands as the last man. It was a penalty but there was no card given as the referee believed the ball to be going wide so no goal scoring opportunity was denied. Will dived the right way but could not reach the shot. 3-1.
We continued for fluency in the game although were enjoying long spells of possession, what we were not doing was creating chances or more accurately not taking shots when we were in the box. We are not Arsenal, we do not need to walk the ball into the net. We need to take opportunities as they are presented and too many times we just didn't. As the game continued the Blues came into it more and more. Defending strongly and showing increasing quality when attacking our end. They pulled it back to 3-2 and we looked shaky.
With 5 minutes remaining the unthinkable happened and Blues scored an equalizer. 3-3. The referee blew the final whistle and that was it. Penalties. Had there been extra time the Blues would have probably won. They had their tails up and were on the rise. By contrast we looked cold, wet and drained. Will did a grand job as captain telling the lads this very fact and telling them that they needed to wake up and snap out of it.
The penalty takers were Jorge, Lewis, Jacob, Luca and Freddie. Blues started and scored, Will went the right way, as he did for every penalty, but just couldn't reach the ball. Jorge then strode up confidently and put his penalty away. confidence was restored as this has been our third shoot-out this season and we had won the previous two (against Cashes and then Gotherington). Blues scored their second, Lewis his, Blues their third and then Jacob, always reliable, scored his. 3-3 with two remaining.
The fourth blues penalty was struck well enough but struck the upright and went wide. Luca scored his penaly. Blues scored their 5th to make it 4-4. We then needed a player with an iron nerve (although different language was used on the pitch). Up strode Freddie who buried his penalty. 5-4. the lads went mad - that's another cup final appearance!
Lewis was MotM, playing centre back he was dominant, winning headers and making tackles and clearances. Showing much better reading of the game and taking control of situation. He scored a quite memorable goal and took a reluctant penalty very well. A really excellent performance.
On reflection this was an odd game we had a 3 goal lead but never really got going. We had the majority of possession but never really created chances. We were neat in possession and did string passes together but lacked that final ball or moment when we could make it count. Conditions played a part and with weather that would have brought hardened trawlermen to tears. The wind and rain driving down across the field making it a very tough experience for our excellent spectators.
We are in the final which will be played at Whaddon Road at the end of the season. Between now and then we have a cup final every week. With difficult division 1 fixtures and teams competing at the top we need to get the winning habit and maintain it.
Well done to the lads today - not our best performance but irrelevant on a day when it was only the result that mattered.