Ruddington Colts 1 Hucknall Sports U13's 3
Saturday 11th December 2004
HUCKNALL THROUGH TO THE QUARTER FINALS
This match had all the
ingredients of a true cup tie, and was strongly contested from the first blow of
the referees whistle, to the last, and there were plenty more in-between!
The pace was incredible, as was the effort put in by all the players on
the field, and all supporters were gripped for the full 70 minutes by pure
action football.
Hucknall took the lead after 11
minutes when a Josh Priestly drop kick fell to Ross Lamb on the half way line,
who then released the ball at precisely the right moment to meet a perfectly
timed run by Vijay Digpal to then pick his spot and score. The celebrations were short lived however, for the reply from
the home side must go down as one of the quickest goals of the season, and in
less that 15 seconds from the restart it all was even again.
Hucknall had it all to do again and 6 minutes later a scorching free-kick
from star defender Shaun Holmes connected beautifully with a descending advance
from Digpal, who only had to redirect the power of the pass to beat the
advancing ‘keeper, and put Hucknall ahead again.
The following 20 minutes saw a dozen instances that showed how both teams
wanted to continue in this coveted competition.
Spirited challenges from numerous players resulted in the referee
bringing to call the Captains from both teams, for a reminder of the a few rules
of the game, and that sportsmanship should prevail in any youth competition.
The second half continued in
deadlock, with both sides frustratingly trying to further the score line.
The first opportunity fell to Ruddington who were faced with an
equalising penalty opportunity at 45 minutes, only to squandered it nervously
well above the visitor’s cross bar. Ironically,
just 8 minutes from time, and after himself having been felled in the box, Vijay
Digpal rose to take the spot kick and take the game beyond Ruddington’s reach. The goal had all the characteristic trademarks of this hat
trick scoring striker, with all the coolness, precision and confidence of a
professional, his 10th hat trick of the season, earning him a
Man-of-the-Match trophy to boot.
The Hucknall back four, Warner, Beal, Holmes and Lynch, were instrumental in this victory, as was ‘keeper Priestly who made a crucial save to keep Hucknall ahead just before the hour. The whole team played to their full ability and put in a superb performance to take them through to the quarter finals of this competition.