Royals Match Report 2005-06

Royals Cup Glory

 Presteigne 2-3 Royals (South Shropshire Cup Final, 16-05-06)
(Lewis, Hearle 2) 

The weather cleared up beautifully for this early evening game (7:00pm KO). Earlier in the afternoon it rained hard in Ludlow. But by 6:30pm the pitch at the Coors Stadium had mostly dried out and the sun came through. 

Presteigne is a good footballing side and matches against them have always been tough ones. This one proved no exception. The first five minutes of the game brought some untidy play. Both sides showed signs of nervousness and the passes were not well strung together. But nerves appeared to calm after a while and some attractive moves were played by both sides. The shots on goal from either side were tame or just wide of the mark, but caused great excitement on the touch line. Among the spectators the tension was mounting minute by minute as the two sides battled it out. At this stage they seemed well matched with both sides playing aggressive football but none gaining an advantage over the other.

The stalemate was broken towards the end of the first half. A long ball forward by Presteigne brought Holtz rushing out. He kicked the ball forward but it fell to Preece. A long and not particularly hard shot on goal followed. But with Holtz still well out of his area the ball rolled into the back of the net. A soft goal. The Royals tried hard to equalise but the first half ended with Presteigne hanging on to its lead. 

At the start of the second half Smith replaced Groom and the more familiar formation made for a more fluid Royals' attack. Smith soon made his presence felt with a well placed shot on goal, saved by Keugler in the Presteigne goal. The Royals were now more often on the attack and the tension on the sidelines rose by a few more degrees. A good shot on goal by Hearle followed but was turned away for a corner. Yet another brilliant save by Keugler denied the Royals. But with the Royals now hitting top form and doing most of the pressing the equaliser looked more and more likely. A long shot forward by the Royals enticed the Presteigne keeper to come out. But Hearle was on to it first and with a brilliant piece of skill shot past the keeper. The ball would probably have rolled in anyway. But Lewis was on to it in a flash and made sure, booting it into the back of the net. 

Brayne then replaced Riley in defence. Robinson was left on. He was playing particularly well, always on to the Presteigne attackers, doggedly sticking to them until he won the ball. Brayne also settled in quickly making it difficult for Presteigne to advance towards the Royals' goal. The solid Royals' defence limited Presteigne to only a few scoring opportunities. At the other end the Royals came a couple of times very close to scoring, either prevented by more good saves by the Presteigne goal keeper or by shooting just wide. Carless-Turland was very active on the left wing but was faced with a particularly skilful defender. He did get in an excellent header from one of Hearle's super corners which the Keugler somehow managed to push over for another corner. The Royals now spent much more time attacking the Presteigne goal and were clearly on top. At times Presteigne were forced into some desperate defending. Presteigne, however, also had a few chances to restore their lead. One powerful shot on goal narrowly sailed over the cross bar of the Royals' goal. 

Full time came with the score still at 1-1 and extra time had to be played, seven minutes each way. It started disastrously for the Royals when after just 90 seconds Presteigne scored an early goal. But their lead was a brief one. Just 2 minutes later a superb long range shot by Hearle found the back of the net to make it 2-2. The tension became almost unbearable for the spectators. The Royals again began to dominate play with their constant attacks on the Presteigne goal. An excellent shot on goal by Smith brought yet another excellent save by the Keugler. The first half of extra time ended with the score still level at 2-2. 

The second half of extra time brought more furious attacks by the Royals. Finally they were rewarded when Lewis hammered in his second goal, a fitting tribute to his good play. More exciting play followed with scoring opportunities at both ends. Presteigne narrowly missed equalising with a shot which went just wide. 

In the end the Royals were the deserved winners. In the later stages of the game their superior fitness and sustained passion allowed them to dominate the game. If it had not been for a superb display of acrobatics by Keugler in the Presteigne goal, the Royals would have won with a handsome margin. Shielded by a splendid defence, Holtz in the Royals goal had much less to do. The Royals, coming twice from behind, showed great character.

Team: Cameron Holtz, Simon Riley, Dominic Robinson, Joe Hearle (c), Ed Groom, Harvey Carless-Turland, Tom Lewis. Subs: Michael Brayne, Rory Smith