FORRESTFIELD WIN CUP AFTER SHOOTOUT DECIDER
Chris
Correia
Forrestfield United have won the
Under 18’s Soccer Pools Cup Final after
defeating the Stirling Lions 5-3 in a penalty
shootout at BGC Stadium – Dorrien Gardens. The
Soccer Pools Cup looked like heading to
Forrestfield after Kynon Melling grabbed an 84th
minute opener – with an amazing goal to bring
the crowd to its feet. As referee Dave Scragg
continually checked his watch in the final
minutes, Stirling’s John Omeedzadeh scored an
injury time equaliser with the final play of the
day. Omeedzadeh’s late heroics took the match to
penalties where Forrestfield prevailed to take
out the Soccer Pools Cup.Forrestfield came out
firing and worked hard in the early stages of
the game – getting numbers back in defence to
help out goalkeeper Joel Zappacosta.
In the first quarter hour,
Stirling could feel the pressure and ‘keeper
Matt Hill continued to leave his post early to
relieve any danger. An early chance for
Forrestfield saw Anthony Cunningham cut a pass
to the central Andrew Harold who blazed over the
crossbar, when he had more time available to
place his shot. The Lions’ best chance of the
half came when Cameron Sutton found United’s
defence asleep when his quick free-kick raced
past the Forrestfield wall. Luckily for United,
‘keeper Zappacosta dived to his right to cancel
out the danger. As the first interval loomed, a
turning volley from Harold and a powerless shot
by Cunningham were missed opportunities by
Forrestfield to stamp their authority.
The second half became a very
physical one as both sides began to make tougher
challenges on one another. Forrestfield’s James
Burns missed an absolute sitter when he received
a ball from the lively Cunningham – but his
effort blazed over the crossbar when it was an
open goal. Stirling looked a different side in
the second stanza, with Ndumba Makeche making a
brilliant run to pass four defenders before
being fouled by Harold in the penalty
area. Referee Dave Scragg immediately pointed to
the spot and up stepped the Lions’ Sutton.
As his penalty-spot effort looked like finding
the bottom left – ‘keeper Zappacosta dove to his
right to keep out Sutton’s shot.
Forrestfield continued to show
their ascendancy in the match and it looked like
only a matter of time before they found the back
of the net. Melling was United’s saviour
when he found the back of the net with an
amazing strike to lift the very vocal
Forrestfield fans. With no extra time, the
match headed to penalties to decide the Cup
winners. Stirling’s Tom Kennedy shot wide
of the goal to put a blemish on the scorecard as
Forrestfield United held on for a 5-3 victory
from the spot.
Stirling Lions 1 (Omeedzadeh 91’)
Forrestfield United 1 (Melling 84’)
BGC Stadium – Dorrien Gardens, Saturday, 4
October 2008
Forrestfield United win 5-3 on
penalties.
HT: 0-0
Stirling Lions:
M. Hill, R. Venditti, C. Sutton, A. Diloritto,
J. Omeedzadeh, D. Hunt (D. Billson 77’), T.
Kennedy, C. Zito, D. Sesay, B. Divjakoski, N.
Makeche.
Yellow Cards:
C. Zito 17’, R. Venditti 30’, J. Omeedzadeh 52’
Forrestfield United:
J. Zappacosta, A. Hall (J. Campbell 15’), W.
Bates, J. Barnes, J. Burns, A. Cunningham, K.
Melling, A. Harold, R. Loxley, J. Cole, J.
Hunter. Subs not used: M. Passante, S. Treacey,
M. Crocker, J. Campbell, J. Haidiar.
