Report

Ekco Whitecaps 0 Concord Rangers 1 Burroughs Park Sunday May 13th 2012
The day finally arrived after what seemed ages. All preparation was complete and we were coming into the final with a good string of results behind us. We had swept aside all before us. That being said there was no complacency and we expected a tough game.
The game plan was to get out of the blocks quickly and to some degree we did this. The first half is a little bit of a blur and we struggled to pass the ball and maintain much width which was a problem. They had a boy who historically had done well against us but very recently he posed little threat so we chose not to pay him special attention. This was a mistake as from their perspective he ran the game. After some hesitation in the box this boy slammed the ball past Elliott with a brilliant volley. We brought Thomas on and his first touch was a scoop up and volley which went just wide. Ben and Luke both had long range efforts which went just over the bar.
At half time we spoke about work rate and getting the ball into wider areas.
We dominated the second half and although we didn't score or weren't even that clever we battled so hard and those boys gave everything. Ben had another long ranger and our real chance fell to Will who did everything right before their goalie made a worldy to keep him out. Towards the end Aeson gave away a penalty although there were question marks as to whether it was in or out of the box. I think it was probably just in if I'm honest. The penalty was missed. The final whistle blew.
The boys were collectively in tears after the game and I was pleased because although I knew they would be over it in 30 mins it showed how much they had put in throughout the season and how much they cared. We played four cup finals this year and eventually lost one. We will do some things differently next year - there is no question that we/I put pressure on the boys and perhaps this contributed to the performance but let's remember we had 60% territory at least and at least 60% possession. We had 0% of the goals though :.( . We did not deserve to lose that game of football but sometimes youve got to take what is yours because the opposition will rarely give it to you. Defeat is only truly defeat if you don't learn from it !!
Up the Ekco !!