Hamsey Rangers 1, AFC Wimbledon 2

Under 11 Surrey Cup Final, 13/4/08

Our Under 11s made the first appearance by a Hamsey Boys' team in the Surrey Cup Final at Redhill last Sunday. Hopes were high but it was not to be, as opponents AFC Wimbledon ran out 2-1 winners.

The day started out well with the Hamsey team arriving by coach in warm sunshine. The home dressing room was an exciting place with all the boys looking forward to the match.They were led out onto the pitch by their captain Josh Fuller.

Hamsey went 1-0 down after just 2 minutes and could so easily have been overun in the first 20 minutes, but a corner against Wimbledon in the 21st minute resulted in a fantastic cross by Bradley Wilson and a striker's finish, on the six yard box, by Harry Hanford for 1-1.

This led to a period of pressure from Hamsey. Just on the stroke of half time Harry Boultwood burst through onto the edge of the penalty box and forced a great save from the Wimbledon goalkeeper.

In the second half the rain was torrential and led to Hamsey struggling to break out of their own half. However the deadlock was only broken after an unfortunate free kick was given away in the Hamsey penalty area. The free kick was initially blocked but Hamsey failed to clear the ball and Wimbledon followed up to take a deserved 2-1 lead.

Dreadful playing conditions did not make for an atractive final. However Wimbledon were well organised and on the day deserved their victory.

Julian Hanford
Under 11s Manager