NORTH ELMHAM WALKING FOOTB vs Coventry 40s Tournament
0 - 0
09 July 2023 · WFA National Cup 40+
Neutral cup match played on 09 July 2023.
Kicked off at 12:00 AM
0-0
vs Coventry 40s Tournament
Neutral cup match
A depleted squad of 7 over 40s members was sent to Coventry on Sunday to take part in the historic inaugural WFA National Cup for the over 40s age group.
Unusually, the draw was not kind to us, with NE being placed in the strongest group of 6. Games were 20 minutes long so 100 minutes in total with 5 games to be played.
Adam, nursing a bad ankle, was Captain and made some outstanding saves.
Our early games, against Birmingham (the largest WF club in the world) and a strong England Transplant team, could have gone our way but for good keeping. Losing Justin in the 1st game was a devastating blow, and despite treatment from the 1st aider and the nurse he was unable to play again, leaving the eldest player in the tournament (PC) to take a far more significant role than he had planned, playing in an unfamiliar out of goal role.
Further games against Winstanley Walkers, Wakefield and the eventual winners Blackburn proved very challenging, and we failed to progress from the group.
All good experience, and with most of our squad carrying injuries we did remarkably well, especially against Blackburn who won 5-1 with Deen scoring against the England 50s Goalie. Blackburn’s squad of 7 included 6 members of the England squad and our performance against them in the final game was exceptional.
NE squad: Adam, Michael, Steve W, Matt, Deen, Justin and Paul C.
Goals: DEEN (2)
Disallowed goal: Steve W – unbelievably for running
Author: Paul Carr
11th July 2023