A DRAMATIC penalty shootout was required to decide a competitive Essex Andrews Under 14s Cup Final, and it was Aveley who came out on top following a 2-2 draw with Concord Rangers after extra time at Parkside.
Aveley won 4-3 on spot kicks having fought back from a goal down twice in normal time. Harvey Sinclair-Little gave Concord the lead on 22 minutes, but that advantage lasted just seven minutes as Larrence Fleischer levelled. Freddie Dobson restored Rangers’ lead with a 59th-minute strike, a deficit which Aveley took even less time to wipe out thanks to an own goal two minutes later.
Millers Captain Connor Dobson was involved in one of the opening attacks on 3 minutes, sending a threatening ball from the left into the danger zone from where Kiligh Along got on the end of it, but his effort flew wide. At the other end ten minutes later, Concord’s Alfie Beeching cut inside from the right flank and tested goalkeeper Leo Grant with a low strike, which he dealt with.
From 20 minutes onwards, there was plenty to keep both goalkeepers occupied. Initially, Harry Yates showed clever footwork for Concord on the edge of the area and curled a shot at goal, but it clipped the left-hand upright on its way just wide. Just two minutes later, play was worked from left to right via Harry Morgan, finding skipper Sinclair-Little in space, and he arrived into the penalty area to thump past Grant, giving Concord the lead.
Aveley then pressed for an equaliser. Following hot on the heels of another chance for his team which came back off the crossbar from distance, this time Dobson buried a header from a far-post cross into the side netting on the left. They did level just before the half-hour mark.
Fleischer took advantage of a loose ball 30 yards from goal, latching onto it and tapping wide of the advancing goalkeeper, Noah Easdown-Carr, into the net. Just before the interval, Aveley forward Along then did well to turn inside the area and create a shot at goal, but it dropped off-target and the teams went into half time all square.
A key moment in the match arrived on 43 minutes, as Aveley went down to ten players following a dangerous challenge, resulting in a red card for their team. Despite this, Ayomide Ogunya should have scored for the ten men from a free header in front of goal and, in a second half of few clearcut chances, Aveley’s Leo Norman also tried his luck from distance in the 58th minute to no avail.
Either side of the hour mark, both teams found the net. Firstly, Concord’s Louis Hambleton burst into acres of space down the right channel and squared unselfishly to Dobson, who slipped the ball under the ‘keeper and into the net. But Aveley replied almost immediately. Freddie Dobson’s delivery from the right forced an error from a defender and a subsequent own goal equaliser.
The game could have gone either way at this stage and, five minutes from the end, Aveley’s Fleischer poked a low shot at goal, watching it roll agonisingly wide. Four minutes into stoppage time they went close again as Ryan Marler’s headed backpass beat his own advancing ‘keeper, but the Concord defender got back in time to prevent it crossing his own goal line.
In a stop-start spell of extra time, chances were at a premium. Concord’s Hambleton did charge in-between defenders and through on goal, though his early shot was collected by ‘keeper Grant. Harry Yates later had the ball in the net for Rangers, but the offside flag had already been raised. Once the penalties got underway, Concord were unable to convert two of their first three, which eventually enabled Aveley to claim the silverware.
Aveley Manager, Craig Maclennan, was very proud of his team, reacting: “The boys have worked really hard this season. We’ve had about eight or nine boys trial for pro clubs. Two boys successfully got two-year contracts at Norwich so, unfortunately, they couldn’t play today, but are a massive part of what we’ve done.”
“We’ve got another boy on trial at QPR at the minute, so he wasn’t here today either, which is a shame. But yeah, we’ve won the League Cup last week. We’ve got another cup final on Tuesday. I’m just so, so proud of the boys.”
“We’ve had such a good set of parents in the year. We try and give the boys as much game time as possible but, obviously, we want to win games as well. Being at a massive club here at Aveley, I’d like to thank Craig Johnson and Danny Shipp for all their help and support. Yeah, it’s just amazing.”
Aveley: Leo Grant, Charlie Grace, Christopher Chukwu, Leo Norman, Larrence Fleischer, Jordane Thomas, Jeziah Hussain, Connor Dobson (C), Kiligh Along, Ayomide Ogunya, George Jordan. Substitutes: Jadon Oguns, Danielis Janulatis, Legend Robinson. Manager: Craig Maclennan.
Concord Rangers: Noah Easdown-Carr, Harvey Sinclair-Little (C), Preston Clark, William Manley, Freddie Dobson, Harry Morgan, Connor Payne, George Herbert, Harry Yates, Alfie Beeching, Ryan Marler. Substitutes: Freddie Butcher, Quincy Parkes, Archie Pryor, Oliver Baker, Louis Hambleton. Joint Managers: Graham Herbert and Lawrence Gower.
Referee: Francesco Iheanyiogu.
Assistant Referees: Lewis Latham and Eder Benzerrouk.
Fourth Official: Joe Morrell.
Attendance: 356.
