Football Result: Old Uffingtonians 1 Old Meadonians 3

Meads made to huff and puff against Uffs

London Old Boys Senior Cup

A win over Old Uffingtonians from the division below moved Old Meadonians into the semi-finals of the London Old Boys Senior Cup and a step further towards a reward for the honest endeavour and hard work put in by a squad deprived of four top performers for most of the season.

However, don't be fooled by the score-line which was slightly flattering to the visitors and belied the fact that Uffs are languishing at the bottom of their division with just one league win all season. In fact the hosts put up a fight which left the result in the balance until into the second half and Meads happy to get this one off their chest in preparation for the run in to the season's spoils.

An uneven surface may have been a contributing factor as Uffs who were obviously used to it gave Meads a torrid twenty minute welcome, hitting the bar and bringing the best out of keeper Gary Robinson whose handling throughout the game was exemplary. Among several saves he made in the opening period was one superb arching dive low to his left at the post which was clinch him the MoM award.

This week for a change, at least up to this point, it was Meads who were reduced to scrambling for scraps with Ed Glover and Peter Eguae both just squeezed out in a packed Uffs area. However, on the half hour centre back Liam Palmer crashed in a header from a corner to give Meads a lead which was not totally deserved.

The second half was to be a repeat of the first with the exception that Meads were rescued from the doldrums after just fifteen minutes. The Uffs' keeper punched out a corner and the effervescent Luke Grahame, relishing his restoration on returning from injury, popped up like a Deus ex Machina to take the ball on the bounce and head it into the top corner from fifteen yards.

With ten minutes to go Craig Jones took a ball into his feet and buried it low for what you might have thought would settle matters but in a hectic finale the hosts got their consolation and not content with that went on to get the visitors on the ropes, warm Bailey's hands and have another shot blocked by Glover before Meads were saved by the bell.

Team: Robinson, Pointer, Palmer, McCombe, Grahame, Shea, Quinn, (Thompson), Mantel, Eguae, Glover, C.Jones. (Sub-not used, Costello)

March 3, 2012