Meads Cup Dreams Ended

Middlesex & Essex Senior Cup Final - Broomfield 1 Old Meadonians 0

The spectre of ‘meltdown’ loomed threateningly over Old Meadonians as in the first of the Amateur Football Alliance show-piece cup finals they were beaten by the cream of the elite Southern Amateur League, Broomfield.

They lost by the odd goal after a closely fought battle which was possibly decided by the early dismissal of Meads’ young centre back Ian Williamson only twenty minutes into the game for two yellow cards.

After a magnificent season this was the first of two finals which Meads are in, the other being the prestigious A.F.A. Senior Cup which has the name of Ipswich Town engraved on it and they hold from last year. Meads had only lost once previously this season and are also handily placed in the league with enough games in hand to win it for the second year running, following winning the last two premierships in the Old Boys’ League, now part of the Amateur Football Combination. They now face the prospect of playing the run in of the league without Williamson although the news of veteran Dave Butler’s return from two months on the injury list will cheer matters up.

In the opening exchanges it was Meads who might have taken the lead as Striker Ed Glover glanced a header from Jack Costello’s cross just wide of the far post. Meads, usually deadly with free-kicks around the area, were guilty of wasting two won in this period. Then came the dismissal from successive dives in, resulting in messy tackles and this seemed to take the steam out of a team which prides itself on its combative but fair approach. Neither Glover nor his striking partner were on song and Broomfield’s intelligent passing game left the ten men scrabbling for scraps for the remainder of the match. Even the goal when it came was just four minutes short of the half-time whistle when A.F.A. representative player Neil Hughes tucked in a low cross from the right at the near post. In the second half Meads managed to keep the Broomfield attack at long range although one effort from distance rattled the bar.

In a desperate last throw Meads pinned their opponents back for the last twenty minutes and won a number of free-kicks to no avail. With ten minutes to go Meads seemed to have a good shout for a penalty but it was not to be. Meads must now pick themselves up for the remainder of the run in.

Team : Sayers, Salanson, Williamson, Hanley, Costello, Bond, (Rhone), Kearney, Quinn, McGuinness, (Wapshott), Hawkins, Glover.

The loss still leaves Meads with the final of the AFA Senior Cup Final. They will be playing against Polytechnic at Southbank CUACO Sports Grounds, Turney Road Dulwich on 9th April. A coach leaves Riverside Club at 12.15. K.O. 3pm

If you feel you would like to be a member of this progressive and friendly club why not get visit their web site www.omfc.co.uk

David Stanners

March 25, 2005