The Pier Pavilion in Herne Bay, Kent played host to the final games of the 2009/10 season by hosting the National Cup Finals Day. Middlesbrough were represented in two finals, the juniors (under 20s) and the seniors. Both squads made the long and tiring trip down on the Friday night to ensure they were fresh and ready for the challenges that awaited them on Saturday afternoon.
The juniors were up first and faced a strong Peterborough side that had four players currently also featuring for the England under 20s team. The Teessiders were not fazed by this and started the game confidently with some good possession. A few minutes in, Sam Kay skilfully deflected a long shot from Boro captain Owen Stewart and it beat the Peterborough goalkeeper. This was a perfect start and lifted Middlesbrough’s confidence, allowing them to settle into their style of play. Soon after, Kay grabbed a second goal from a well executed pass from behind the opposition’s goal, leaving the keeper with no chance. When Peterborough had possession Middlesbrough were applying lots of pressure, forcing them in to mistakes and giving the ball away on several occasions. Middlesbrough’s Beth Cook finally capitalised on one of these opportunities as she broke away, rounded the final defender with ease and drew a fantastic stop from the Peterbrough keeper – with the goal keeper committed to the save, Stewart was on hand to convert the rebound.
Middlesbrough were now in their groove and this allowed them to make substitutions including a debut for Chloe Stevenson who was playing in the same team as her older brother Billy. Peterborough bounced back with a very powerful shot from long range that gave the unsighted Boro keeper Gary Todd no chance but Boro restored their cushion when Will Smith bagged himself a great goal – beating his defender with a great piece of individual skill and finishing it off with a hard shot in to the top corner. Half time score, Boro 4 Peterborough 1.
In the second half Middlesbrough looked to continue their first half style, but Peterborough had to change their tactics and tried putting pressure on the Boro players. With a three goal deficit they were now shooting on site and packing the penalty area with players to try and distract the Boro shot stopper – but Todd kept his concentration and was more than a match for whatever came his way. Having survived the Peterborough attacks Boro began to find their rhythm again and once more took control of the game. The result was capped off by some excellent counter attacking play with Stewart finding the net a further three times before the full time whistle. Middlesbrough running out deserving winners by 6 goals to 1.
Captain Owen Stewart commented after the game, “This was a fantastic victory for the team, I told the players to do what they do week in week out at training and they’ve done the business. We didn’t have to change our tactics once during the game. It shows what an exceptional group of players we have at Middlesbrough.”
The final game of the day saw the seniors face arch rivals Herne Bay United. Earlier in the season Boro had taken the available honours by winning the League cup. Only weeks earlier though, Herne Bay United narrowly edged out Boro in the winner take all league final. With current honours sat completely even, both teams were desperate to take home the coveted National Cup.
With Boro fatigued from the incredibly long journey it was no surprise that HBU started the brighter. They immediately began to move the ball around nicely and maintained possession well. However over the last few seasons Boro have become a formidable force to break down and although HBU were retaining possession the Boro back line held strong and dealt comfortably with anything that the home team threw at it.
With four minutes gone Middlesbrough began to find their strength going forward and although they still didn’t look at their best Owen Stewart fired in a number of fierce shots from close range which had the HBU keeper scrambling to save. Middlesbrough now growing in confidence pushed further forward and it was this over exuberance that cost them. HBU won the ball deep in their own half and with one defence splitting pass released their number 5 to dispatch the first goal of the game. Middlesbrough immediately regrouped and ensured they didn’t lose any further ground in the game. Once more they built from the back and maintained a strong defensive line. With HBU now tiring Boro refreshed their starting line up and began to take control of the game and with 14 minutes remaining in the half Boro finally got their break through. Top goal scorer Stewart beating the HBU keeper from close range on the counter attack.
With neither team wanting to lose the game chances became few and far between as the tackles began to fly in – Stewart receiving a blue card and 2 minutes in the sin bin for a body check. With the end of the first half in site both teams began to tire and put the emphasis on defending – Boro striker Marc Rutland had other ideas though and in the blink of an eye, he put Boro in the lead with a superb finish. Half time score, Boro 2, HBU 1.
Middlesbrough came in at half time realising that they needed to keep the tempo up as the next goal in the game would be crucial. Grant Zaccaria had already shown at the end of the first half that he had the fitness and ability to deal with the HBU attacks and so he lead out a fully rotated team in the second half. Boro once more took control of the early encounters; they remained strong in defence and began to grow in confidence going forward. With less than two minutes gone Stewart bagged himself another to extend Boro’s lead to 3 – 1.
The Teessiders momentarily lost their concentration allowing HBU back in the game with a goal of their own, but the Boro squad once more showed they could weather out whatever HBU threw at them. Dan Palmer in goal, despite picking up an injury in the first half continued to frustrate the HBU attacks and with defensive stability from Peter Lonsdale, John Jones and Zaccaria Boro looked secure. Once more it was from this basis that Boro extended their lead and again it was newly crowned junior player of the year Stewart that found the back of the net. HBU did manage to respond but their attacks were beginning to become sporadic as they failed to mount any pressure. With 10 minutes remaining and Boro’s Sam Kay continually causing HBU problems, their defensive line began to weaken and it was Rutland again who capitalised taking the score to 5 – 3.
With HBU now getting desperate they began to resort to their over physical style of play from years gone by. However Boro kept their cool and the referees kept control of the game – sin binning HBUs number 9 and 6 within 3 minutes of each other. With the clock running down and a two goal deficit HBU went for broke. Boro looked as strong as they did in the first minute though, keeping the HBU attacks at bay. Boro managed one more goal before full time as captain Michael Ableson finished the game with aplomb as he tucked away Middlesbrough’s sixth just before the end to make the final score 6 – 3 to Boro and ensuring the National Cup returns to Teesside for first time in 10 years.
Team manager John Jones commented after the game. “The team were excellent today. Our biggest asset is our team play and today we were just too strong for Herne Bay United. The squad have spent an awful lot of time, money and effort building up to today and we got exactly what we deserved. We ran HBU very close in the league and were bitterly disappointed with the way we lost. We put that behind us though and came here and beat the current champions in their own back yard – testament to just how good this team actually is.”
John added “We have a lot of people to thank for our success today. A lot of work goes on in the back ground to ensure the players can be fully focused on preparing for the game. In particular we’d like to thank Barry Stevenson, if it weren’t for him this trip wouldn’t have even been possible and we wouldn’t be champions. Barry, thank you very much”.
