Romford Elite and Thames Ironworks clinch cup final glory

Premier Division Cup Final
Flanders 1-2 Romford Elite

Despite the 20 degree drop in temperature compared to last weekend, this didn’t dampen the spirits of our two cup finalists on Sunday as Flanders came head to head with Romford Elite in the Premier Division Cup final. Flanders grabbed an early lead in the match with Shomari Barnwell bursting through Elite’s defence and slotting home to give his side a lead. Flanders had plenty of other chances in the opening exchanges but weren’t quite able to extend that lead as Romford weathered the storm to hang on until the break.

The second half saw the start of the turnaround as Elite came out firing and the momentum of the game started to shift. The crucial moment came with 18 minutes to go as the referee played a good advantage following a challenge which enabled Chris Bird to find a bit of space around the edge of the box and finish superbly into the bottom corner to level up the match. And then with extra time looking on the cards, Elite settled the match in scrappy fashion netting from a set piece that had rattled around the six yard box to win 2-1!

Congratulations to all involved with Romford Elite on a superb comeback performance and commiserations to Flanders who were just pipped at the post in the end of what had been a tightly contested match.

Division Four Cup Final
Thames Ironworks Community 2-0 Central Colts

The afternoon match saw the top two side in Division Four come head-to-head as Central Colts looked to secure the second part of a possible treble this season with Thames Ironworks standing in the way of that feat.

Both sides had half chances in the opening exchanges of a fairly open contest but the finishing didn’t quite match the build up play for either side. The first big moment came on 20 minutes as Thames were awarded a penalty for what appeared to be a hand-ball infringement with the spot kick safely tucked away for a 1-0 lead. Thames used that goal to spur them on and could have been further ahead before they eventually did double their lead on the stroke of half time, forcing the Colts keeper into a save but the follow up was netted from 10 yards to make it 2-0 at the break.

In the second half, Colts brought on some substitutes in an attempt to freshen things up as they tried to get back into the match. Thames’ defence were resolute though and could have made it 2-0 with a thunderous effort back off the bar when it looked easier to score. In a half of few chances, Thames managed to hang on to their lead and crown themselves as the Division 4 Cup winners for this season with the sides facing each other again in a fortnight in an important league clash for both clubs.

For now though, we must congratulate Thames Ironworks on a spirited cup final performance that earned them a well deserved win. Commiserations to Central Colts who played their part on the day and showed tremendous sportsmanship throughout.