DIVISION TWO LEAGUE CUP FINAL MATCH REPORT
Division Two League Cup Final 22nd March 2014
Heath Park FC v Writtle FC Venue: Billericay Town FC
On a chilly but bright afternoon Billericay Town FC welcomed the first of the leagues Cup Finals for 2014 and a tight tense affair it proved to be. Both teams ensured there was little time for either side to settle as anyone with the ball was closed down very quickly which meant forwards had little time to dwell on the ball and therefore there were few goal-scoring opportunities. However the deadlock was broken after twenty-three minutes when Paul Hayes drifted over to the right wing, a deft through ball saw him just the right side of the defence to avoid an offside decision and from a narrow angle he put Heath Park one up. There was a little more goalmouth action after this but clear-cut chances were blotted out by tenacious tackling from both defences, some of which resulted in referee Alan Sheill, who handled the game well, noting some names and showing the yellow card.
Half-time came and went with the score at 1-0 and with a similar pattern of play in the second period it looked likely that one goal might seal the win but midway through the half Writtle, using the slight slope to their advantage settled into a period of pressure on the Heath Park goal. Twenty minutes in this resulted in an equaliser from one of the corners won as Kevin Barnes rose to nod home in a packed goalmouth. Odd chances for both sides came and went without a change in the score until eight minutes from time when a good inter-passing move by Writtle left one of their forwards with a prime opportunity, which he seemed to have taken, curling the ball away from the keeper only to see it strike the bar and bound away to safety.
Extra time beckoned and duly came with legs on both sides showing signs of a long hard match. This may have aided Danny Brand as he hit a long speculative shot which seemed to find the Writtle keeper in two minds as it evaded his outstretched arm to nestle in the back of the net. Whilst a few chances came after that the hard pace of the game naturally meant energy levels had dropped and neither side managed to find the net again leaving Heath Park the proud winners of the Cup.
Final Score Heath Park 2 Writtle 1 after extra time.
The Cup was presented by Eric Gallacher.
Teams:
Heath Park: Gareth Vaughan, Lee Riley, Allen Wilkins, Daniel Imray, Sam Marks, James Woodham, Billy Wilson, Danny Cressey, Danny Brand, Paul Hayes, Mark Hunt. Subs: Neil Homes, Darren Galvin-Law, Seamus Healey, Justin Scollard, Vinnie Webster
Writtle: Michael Part, Russell Baulkham, Jamie Woods, Rich Bastian, Paul Spencer, Kevin Bowdidge, Stuart Gooch, Kevin Bleakly, Peter Blackburn, Kevin Barnes, Barry Pope. Subs: Brian Payne, Paul Barry, John Weller, Dean Selby, James O’Connor
Referee: Allan Sheill
Assistant Referees: Ricky Heseltine and Paul Clark
Fourth Official: Martin Berry
