Bedfordshire County Reserve League Cup Final

Saturday 7th May 2005.

Kent Athletic 0 AFC Dunstable 1

The reserves travelled over to Cranfield to compete in only the 2nd final of the Bedfordshire County Reserve League Cup.
After beating our opponents 9-0 in the league only 3 weeks previously, they had to be on their guard not to be over confident.
Once again Cranfield United FC was in superb condition but the wind was to be a factor and did spoil the game as a spectacle.
Playing against the wind in the first half we had to be solid, as Kents had the majority of the possesion but did not test Chris Harrison in our goal. Holding out until the break, the team and management felt they had more creativity in the team than Kents, to use the wind to full advantage.
That was to be the fact as Adam Mace in the Kents goal pulled off a couple of great saves from Daniel Sheehan and George Viscogliosi.
As we pushed forward, the goal that both teams felt would win the final, did not seem to be coming.With an hour on the clock, Lewis Doherty replaced Craig Butler and his disappointment of not making the starting eleven, he made up for that as he broke clear on 76 minutes but as Mace once again made a fine save from his drive he shinned the rebound into the corner of the net.
The goal activated scenes of ectasy which resulted in Doherty receiving a yellow card for removing his shirt.
We still had 14 minutes to defend the lead, but the strong wind was still in our favour and it was hard for Kents to get the ball forward.
The final whistle triggered celebrations as if the World Cup was won and it continued when captain Chris Tubb lifted the trophy. It was a great advert for youth as the team average age is 19 and that even includes the skipper who is 35.
The club have now won a trophy every year over the past 4 seasons.

Team: Harrison. Viscogliosi. Cook. McGann. Tubb (c). Urry. Butler. Sheehan. Magadah. Palmer. Harker.
Subs used: Doherty. Freeman. Leigh. Subs not used: Kiteley. Booth.

Captain Chris Tubb hoists the trophy aloft

The winning team get into celebration mode