Launton Boys Football: Under 12's loose Cup Final by one goal in 3

Launton Athletic Under 12s suffer narrow cup final loss

Launton Athletic Under 12s1 vs WitneyVikings Youth Under 12s Yellows 2

After the dramatic semi-final win on penalties over Summertown, Athletic went into the cup final with spirits high. We had played Witneyin the league back in October and were the only team to beat them before they were promoted at Christmas. For Witney, it was to be their last game as a team as they were disbanding after the final due to a number of players moving to a new team. The final had been a long time coming for Witney, as they played their semi-final back at the start of February and so had waited 3 months for the game due to a fixture backlog for Launton caused by both frozen and flooded pitches.

The game took place at Oxford City on the 3Gpitch and there was a little controversy before the match as the pitch setup was both far narrower and shorter than any pitch we’dplayed on this season. This impacted our style of play a little as Athletic like to play a spread-out style of football, utilising our strong and fast wingersto get behind teams. However, it was the same for both teams and made it a super competitive and absorbing match.

The game was tight from the start, with little room on the pitch meaning the ball had to be moved quickly and Launton had the better of the early exchanges with a couple of shots wide and two very dangerous corners flashing right across the goal. Witneylooked to break quickly when they got the ball but some very solid and compact defending from our regular back three of CodyAlexander, Oliver Hermanand ReubenCooper meant that Witneystruggled to get any clear chances. Captain FinleyMoss and GeorgeLodge were controlling the midfieldand were looking to play through to our wingersand forwards at every opportunity.

The opening goal came against the run of play just past the midway mark of the first half. A corner to Launton was gathered by the Witney goalkeeper and his quick, long kick got behind the Launton defence. The Launton goalkeeper Danny Robeson-Perez attempted to come out and clear the danger, but the Witney striker showed great composure to go around the keeper and score into the open goal. The goal spurred the Launton team into action and within five minutes, they had their deserved equaliser. A dangerous cross from the left from winger Harry Allpress was spilt by the Witney goalkeeper and as striker Tomo Carter was ready to pounce on the ball, the goalkeeper fumbled the ball into his own net. 1-1 at half time and all to play for.

The second half was just as competitive, but Launton again struggled to turn possession into clear cut chances and the game remained even into the final ten minutes. The decisive moment came with just five minutes left where a throw-in to Witney midway into the Launton half was speculatively hit high into the Launton box and the Launton goalkeeper unfortunately misjudged the flight and the ball bounced over his head and despite the best efforts of Harvey Oliver, the ball ended up in the Launton net. With just minutes left, it was all out attack for Launton to try to force extra time. They won a free kick about twenty yards from goal as the clock ticked over into injury time and despite a strong shot on target from Finley Moss, the Witney goalkeeper was able to save the ball and send it out for a corner. The final whistle came and Launton had narrowly lost a game they fully deserved to win, allowing just two shots on target in the whole game.

The Witney coach came over to commiserate with the Launton boys and told them the best team had lost on the day. It was no consolation to the team and there were understandable tears shed as the team collected their runners up medals, but they showed strong sportsmanship to congratulate the Witney team on their victory.

Ultimately, it will be a learning experience for the team but they should all be proud of how they have grown considerably as a group this season, being competitive throughout the league and especially the cup campaigns and myself and Chris New as coaches are super proud of the team and all they have achieved. We transition now into an 11-a-side team for next season and look forward to the new challenges, and hopefully go one better in the cup as well.

Paddi Cooper