The waiting was finally over as today we played against last year’s winners Bristol City Juniors Supporters Club in the GFA Cup Final. The Final took place at the home of the GFA at Almondsbury where a large crowd was anticipated for the club’s first major final.
It was a cautious start with both teams probing & looking for the early chance to take the initiative. However, as the game wore on City appeared the more confident & began to get their passing game together but despite having plenty of possession they were restricted to long-range efforts that never hit the target. On 25 minutes good play by City ended with a cross into the box where a striker got a good shot on goal which produced the first save of the match by Ryan Scott, who diving low to his left diverted the ball out for a corner. This seemed to give City more imputes & shortly afterwards another good effort from them produced a further save by Scott this time flying to his right to deny them the first goal. City where in control & from a corner they almost took the lead but a header at the back post went just over the bar. On 35 minutes Avonmouth got their first shot on target when James Skelton cut in from the left & let fly with a shot that went straight at the keeper. The keeper then sent a long kick forward but hesitancy in the Avonmouth defence allowed a City striker time & space from outside the box to aim his shot perfectly, which then looped high over keeper Scott into the net. Just before half time City almost scored a replica of the first goal but this time the shot went just over the bar and they went in at half time with a deserved lead.
Half time: Bristol City JSC 1 Avonmouth 0
Avonmouth did not appear to be their normal selves in the first half so most of the crowd were expecting a vast improvement at the start of the second. However, within minutes more hesitancy in the Avonmouth defence allowed a shot to come in from the left & only a magnificent save by Scott prevented the second goal. From the resultant short corner another terrific shot hit the crossbar and from close in, the rebound was somehow headed over the bar. Minutes later Avonmouth were asleep as City did another short corner routine and given plenty of time & space the City player this time sent over a lovely cross that eluded everyone until it reached near to the back post where a City player was able to pounce & ram the ball into the net from close in. At this time Avonmouth looked in disarray & it appeared that City could go on & get a few more goals. However, this Avonmouth team do not give in & within minutes made it 2- 1. The ball found its way to Skelton on the right hand side whose excellent cross into the box was hit first time by Mitch Harris. His effort was well saved by the keeper but in the chase for the loose ball Harris was able to beat everyone & prod the ball into the net. The game was now truly back on with Avonmouth having more confidence & encouragement to attack. Skelton sent a lovely ball through for Harris to run onto but unfortunately the City keeper just won the race to the ball to prevent the striker having an empty goal to aim at. With the game now at a knife edge there came a very highly controversial decision by the officials. From the right Sam Eastwood sent over a very teasing cross high towards goal. The keeper managed to catch the ball but his momentum carried both himself & the ball over the line with no one else touching the ball, however, the linesman waved his flag for offside. The resulting free kick for the offside was near the penalty spot, which is nowhere near the goal line. Indeed it is understood that it was admitted that an error had been made and that the goal should have been given – unfortunately this was no consolation to the Avonmouth players, management & supporters. Shortly afterwards there came an unfortunate incident when following a tussle for the ball near the by-line a City player collided with his head into the railings behind the pitch. There was a 40 minutes delay, while waiting for an ambulance to arrive & take the lad to hospital. When the game finally restarted there was 3 minutes remaining with City now down to only 10 players. Could Avonmouth get the equaliser & force extra time? On a breakaway Skelton run free into the box but from a tight angle his shot went straight into the arms of the City keeper. City were now happy to kick the ball away to anywhere for safety & finally the referee blew his whistle for the end of the match with City holding out for a deserved 2 – 1 victory.
Congratulations to City on their retaining of the cup. There is no denying that they deserved to win the game & they seemed to be just that little bit better & sharper all over the pitch. Everyone at Avonmouth also sends their best wishes to the injured player & hope that he makes a speedy recovery from his ordeal. As for Avonmouth the general consensus is that the boys seemed to freeze in the first half. We have to remember that this was our first final whereas City have had the experience of playing & winning previous finals. It is a shame that the game may also be remembered for a controversial decision by a linesman but we have to take this & the result on the chin & hope the boys learn from the experience so that when we get to our next final we can grab it with all hands. Congratulations must still go to all our boys & coaches for getting us this far & for giving us the parents & supporters something to be very proud of.
Full Time: Bristol City JSC 2 Avonmouth 1
