David Barber, The FA's historian and 'superfan', is fast-approaching his 7,000th game and this week chalked up a couple of finals around the capital...
I saw two finals at the weekend – it’s that time of year – and they both finished 3-2. Saturday’s game was Old Meadonians v Old Wilsonians in the AFA Senior Cup final and Sunday’s was Middlesex v Cheshire in the FA County Youth Cup Final.
I’ve now seen nine consecutive AFA Senior finals and this year’s showpiece was at the Bank of England Sports Ground in Roehampton, where Sir Alf’s England used to train – and where, in 1990, I watched a bizarre game between Wandsworth Police Station and Uruguay.
A fan uses his ipad as the AFA Senior Cup Final goes on
It was Uruguay’s national team but they only won 3-1.
For me Saturday’s final, played in sunshine but a chilly breeze before 136 spectators, wasn’t as close as 3-2 suggests.
Old Wilsonians, winners of the Surrey Premier Cup only three days earlier, have an outstanding side this year and they looked winners from the early minutes.
There were Wilsonians goals after 12 and 24 minutes, Meadonians’ keeper being unlucky with the second which he got a hand to, but ‘Meado’ made it interesting with a goal early in the second half.
It was 3-1 to Wilsonians after a penalty was (in my view) correctly awarded by referee Grant Mathias, who had won the Cup as a centre-half with Old Stationers 25 years ago.
Then Meadonians scored again, literally in the last five seconds. Wilsonians, who had beaten Winchmore Hill in last year’s Final, have a good shot at winning a ‘Quadruple’ this season.
The County Youth Final on Sunday was at The Hive, the relatively new home of Barnet FC. For the second weekend running there were no Jubilee or Metropolitan line trains due to ‘engineering works’ and that made a normally easy journey more problematic.
Middlesex and Cheshire line up at the Hive
I decided to go for a Northern line train to Burnt Oak and then walk a couple of miles from there. Middlesex had last lifted the trophy in 1972, beating Liverpool 2-0 at Wealdstone FC’s old ground at Lower Mead, and I was there!
I don’t remember anything about the game – but there was a cold wind, even in May, and there wasn’t much grass on the pitch. Later that day England played West Germany and got a 0-0 draw in Berlin with Hunter and Storey stiffening up the midfield.
For a while a similar scoreline to their last victory looked likely in this year's Final, with Middlesex 2-0 up and only about 15 minutes to go. Then the strong wind at Cheshire’s backs started to have a real effect.
A long shot from the left became a howitzer and beat the ‘keeper’s flailing arms and in the space of nine minutes the score went from 2-0 to 2-3.
Action in The County Youth Cup Final
What turned out to be the winner was a sensational free-kick from barely inside the Middlesex half.
The shell-shocked Middlesex lads tried desperately to fashion an equaliser in the last eight minutes of normal time, plus five added minutes, but their finishing was wayward and too hurried.
The Cheshire bench raced on at the final whistle as they all went mad celebrating their victory.
I’m up to 157 games this season and 6,817 altogether. I hope to see another five this week.
