WASHINGTON AGED PEOPLES TROPHY FINAL
COUNDON & LEEHOLME YOUTH FC 1 V 3 HARTLEPOOL FC RESERVES
The final of the Washington Aged Peoples Trophy was held at
Brandon Welfare on Wednesday April 29th 2015. League Champions
Coundon & Leeholme Youth FC was up against the surprise package of the
Durham Alliance League this season, Hartlepool FC Reserves.
Coundon had already bagged the League Championship, Clem Smith
Bowl & the Auckland Charity Cup and were favourites to lift the Washington
Aged Peoples Trophy as well.
Hartlepool FC Reserves reached the final of the Washington Aged
Peoples Trophy having dispatched league leaders Horsley Hill in the semi final
3-0 but this was a different challenge altogether meeting league champions
Coundon and Leeholme in the final.
However Hartlepool FC Res had a different view and this match
was the upset of all upsets. Hartlepool FC fielded a below strength side with
Kidson, Beddow, Sullivan and Donaghy all out and Anth Readman pulling out in
the warm up. It looked like the writing was on the wall but the never say die
attitude of the players shone through from the start.
The game started with Coundon having a lot of possession, as expected, and they were first on the attack. Defender Scott Close showed his determination when tracking back and putting in a fantastic tackle to deny Coundons pacy striker. Jake Larkin as always was making progress down the left wing but the pressure was on when young Sam Dobson ripped open old stitches with a big tackle in the box. Luke Sutheran replaced Dobson and had a great game on the right of the midfield. Against all odds Hartlepool FC Reserves took the lead when striker Lewi Murphy challenged for the Ball against a strong defender, despite losing a tooth the ball fell to Larkin who put FC ahead in the 20th minute. Striker Carl O'Sullivan was next to show with a 1 v 1 with the keeper but struggled to get the ball under control while at the other end defender Dan Cartwright headed clear a Coundon corner. O'Sullivan chased a Coundon defender down in the corner and robbed him of the ball, turned and showed pace into the box, cut the ball back for top scorer Murphy who made no mistake 2-0. The second goal rocked Coundon and gave FC the belief they had a chance. O'Sullivan and Murphy linked up again only to see Murphy hit the bar but within a minute the keeper made a poor kick for Murphy to collect the ball and put FC 3-0 up. Coundon pushed but MOM Jake Jenkins was outstanding in heart of the defence.
The second half was a different affair with wounded Coundon dangerous from the off. They were first to show but scuffed their shot wide. It was plain to see why they were league champs and FC had to be resolute in their defending. Coundon had a great chance only to see the shot tipped over my keeper Ryan Harrisskitt. Defender Jack Swales put in a last ditch tackle to deny Coundon and the FC defence held strong under great pressure. Dom Swinburne was outstanding on the left of the defence but with 7 minutes to go Coundon striker Johnson pulled one back but it wasn't enough to beat the league newcomers and the new Washington Aged People's Champions to bring the cup back to Hartlepool
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