National Plate last 16 – Ashford 3 High Wycombe 3 (Ashford won 4-3 on pens)
Goals
Merchant, Sharpe, White
Followers of Arcane and Mystic Arts would have known what happened at half time in this National Plate cup game between Ashford u-18’s and High Wycombe u-18’s.
Playing for a place in the last 8 and against a talented HW team that we were fortunate to draw with 2 weeks previous, it was a sorry bunch of junior Red-and-Blacks that trooped in for the team talk two goals down and having barely mounted one attack in the half.
Manager Gordo surveyed the wretched urchins and realised to his dismay there was only one thing to do – unleash the Words of Power!! Used by Big Amit last season against Milton Keynes and supposedly never to be repeated, Gordo murmured the words hoping that these innocents could survive the cosmic energies. An invisible coruscating wave of eldritch energy washed over the team and the crowd felt the aftershock - fortunately they were far enough away to avoid the effects.
Off the team went in a daze and it was obvious that things had changed – they started to maintain possession, make inroads into the HW half and gained confidence as the initial minutes ticked by. After 10 minutes, we got a goal back from close range by debutant David Merchant but immediately conceded a short corner and a third, followed by another for us, Sharpy running unchallenged into the D to reverse-strike home – 0-2 to 2-3 in 5 minutes!!
We looked the stronger team but their keeper made one fantastic save in particular to keep them in front and it looked like our chance had gone until in the last minute we forced a short corner and this was drag-flicked in off the cross bar by Shane White to whoops of Red-and-Black delight.
Straight to flicks and the one thing I can advise them on, not sure they took too much notice of me but we were less bad than they were and James Wheeler did very well to save their first flick. Podge, Sharpy, Prince and JLo scored and the last HW lad unfortunately for him fluffed it for us to progress.
All in all, fortunate to get through but we are through and need to perform more consistently to advance further. We have been drawn at home against Essex outfit Harlow on 6 April 14:00 pushback – should be a cracker!!!
