MATCH REPORT BERKS AND BUCKS JUNIOR TROPHY FINAL OLD BRADWELL UNITED 4 - 0 FINCHAMPSTEAD FC

Line Up: Jahn, Wade, King, Butler, Maxey, Keene, O'Neill, Cox, Valentine, Smith, Green

Subs: Wade, Adebiyi, Don, Hamilton, Harrington

The restructure of the county cup competitions since we won the Senior Trophy in 2019 hasn’t helped the competitiveness Our run to the final of Berks & Bucks FA Charles Twelftree Trophy had seen us score 40 goals without conceding any Up to the final we had only faced one team at the same level. In our view it is not good to win a semi final 9-0 and this is not a slight on Haddenham United

Anyway, to the final and similar to 2019 we faced a team from the Thames Valley Premier League In truth, we snatched that trophy after spending much of the game on the back foot. It had been mentioned that in 3 finals under David Keene, we had yet to score in open play and we had taken the trophy home in 2 of them.

Not much was known about our opponents Finchampstead, who had waited an unbelievable amount of time to play the semi final, as the county FA dealt with an unofficial VAR incident in the previous rounds Despite our run, we paid them the respect they deserved having won their league the previous 2 seasons and beaten some good teams along the way

The fixture congestion had caused injuries to mount up, but we were dealt surprising lift when Darryl Smith passed a fitness test ahead of the game The game started at a decent pace, as both teams tested each other out, but defences on both sides limited any decent chances. Then we were gifted a chance in the 12th Minute as an under hit back pass was intercepted by BEN GREEN who rounded the keeper and scored in the empty net to make it 1-0. Only minutes later it was 2-0 when a Keene throw wasn’t dealt with and after a bit of pinball the ball was in the net via a Finchampstead player. On 20 minutes, Darryl Smith unfortunately injured the same knee and was replaced by Brandon Hamilton It was harsh on Darryl who had started well on his return.

Finchampstead had reacted well to going behind and their forwards were moving us about, but clear cut chances were difficult to come by One moment saw Keene take a yellow card on the half way line to prevent a chance With their back 3 coming out with the ball with ease, we made some changes to the formation which helped stem the flow a bit.

On half time, the game was all but sealed. After seeing Sam O’Neill blaze a free kick over minutes earlier, SCOTT VALENTINE produced a moment of magic from almost the same spot. His 30 yard free kick nestled in the top left corner despite the attempts of the goalkeeper. It was a typical moment of skill we have come to see from Scott for his 31st goal of the season

HALF TIME : OLD BRADWELL 3-0 FINCHAMPSTEAD

The message at half time was simple, just do the basics well and we will win the game. To the players credit they did exactly that Finchampstead make a change and pushed another player forward, but in truth the 2nd half saw hardly any action on goal from either team As the game wore on our midfield and in particular captain Sammy O’Neill stamped their authority on the game, consistently breaking up play to limit any momentum for the opposition.

A flurry of substitutions throughout the half, saw Adebiyi, Don, Harrington & Wade replace Cox, Green, Keene and King

Two of those substitutes combined to make it 4-0 A Don free kick was directed towards goal by ADEBIYI’s head and looped over the keeper Having taken over that end all game, the players finally had the opportunity to celebrate with the excellent travelling fans

It was the finishing touch to what had been a controlled display for 90 minutes and saw us lift the trophy. With many games still to play, it was nice to take home some silverware for the efforts from the squad

As the management were debating the man of the match decision, the County FA took it out of our hands awarding it to Scott Valentine for his sublime free kick.

FULLL TIME: OLD BRADWELL 4-0 FINCHAMPSTEAD