Sunday 17th May 2015 - kick off 3:15pm
Venue: Eagle Valley, Oxton Road, Nottinghamshire
Competition: East Midlands Veterans League Cup Final
Referee: Mr. Aidan Jackson
Scorers: (40 minute halves)
Basford: Chris Freestone (4, 32), Martin Carruthers (6, 72 pen)
Clifton: Roy Sharp (49), Aaron Wright (67)
Line-ups
Not too accurate as it turned out!
This was the final game of the "ontheroad" blog, season 2014-15, and not a bad game to finish on. A few familiar names taking part in this game - and plenty of skill still evident. Never seem an EMVL match before - league or cup, so this was a new experience. The Arnold Town club-house was rammed - there had been another EMVL cup final earlier in the afternoon and quite a few were staying on for the second game.
Great to see old friends Michael Kilbee and Malcolm Fox again - Malc is the league secretary and provided me with a team sheet. Unfortunately the players decided not to wear the corresponding shirt numbers, so please forgive any inaccuracies.
Basford - resplendant in a Victor Sandler Forest kit!!
Matt Nowak went close to putting Basford ahead in the second minute, but was foiled by a neat save from Carl Spibey in the Clifton goal. Basford did open the scoring just 60 seconds later - a defence splitting pass found CHRIS FREESTONE and the striker ran in one-on-one with Spibey before calmly slotting the ball to the keeper's left and into the back of the net. Two minutes later Basford took a quick throw down the right and Nowak collected the ball, took it to the byline and fired it across to the far stick where MARTIN CARRUTHERS was on hand to score the simplest of tap ins.
Carruthers' neat turn drew a foul on the edge of the Clifton box on 32 - FREESTONE stepped up and fired the ball home, with a little help from a deflection off the wall. Five minutes later Clifton were reduced to ten men after one of their players aimed the "C" bomb at Referee Aidan Jackson. The Clifton no.19 was dismissed, but I thought it was the no.11 who was the perpetrator. Despite protests from the player and spectators nearby, the Ref was unrepentant and the no. 19 had to leave the field. H-T 3-0
Clifton took full advantage of a slow start by the Basford vets after the restart, and reduced their arrears with 9 minutes of the second half played. ROY SHARP collected a neat through call before taking the ball into the area and firing across Scott Miles and into the inside side-netting. David Clarke had a great chance to kill off any further Clifton thoughts of an unlikely comeback on 60, but fired way over the bar from about 5 yards out after Carruthers picked him out in front of goal.
Looked to be a costly miss as 7 minutes later Clifton did grab their second - a stunning AARON WRIGHT pile-driver from 25 yards that left a Basford keeper Miles waving it bye-bye as it flew past him! Any worries that we may be headed for extra-time were dismissed on 72 when CARRUTHERS fired home from the spot after a Clifton defender was penalised for handling in the box. F-T 4-2
Admission: no
Programme: no
Attendance: 105
Charity: £4.50
