Tag: Final

Year 5 FA Cup Final – Match Report

So the day of the FA Cup Final arrived and there was a real buzz in the air as the clock ticked down towards kick-off. The teams lined up on the pitch and some were surprised when the special guest was announced as the Queen, who came out to greet them, accompanied by her entourage. With the Queen being a secret West Ham supporter, she was a little unhappy that she had missed the League Cup Final a few months ago and had to suffer watching ‘these two ghastly teams’!

The game soon began and both teams found the Wembley pitch to be much softer than their league pitches. This resulted in the ball running a bit slower, meaning it was a scrappy encounter. This affected the first half of the game, with a lot of mistakes and poor passing. Norwich took the upper hand by attacking, with Notts Forest sitting back and trying to counter on the break. Both sides had a few chances which were off target, until Norwich had the best moment of the half with a shot on the edge of the area. The Norwich striker hit the ball well, but the Forest defenders stood firm and managed to bundle the ball out for a corner.

Norwich earn a free-kick in a dangerous position

It was all equal at half-time as the players left the pitch to take a well-earned break.

In the second half, Norwich continued to dominate possession, but Forest suddenly had a good break. The Norwich defender mistimed his rushed tackle to bring down the player. The referee awarded a direct free kick to Forest.

Forest line up the free kick with Norwich making a wall

Norwich put up a 4 man wall, but the Forest player struck the ball perfectly and the ball found the far corner of the goal. Norwich players claimed that the ball had not crossed the line, but replays showed it clearly had. The Forest players ran for the corner in celebration. 1-0 to Forest.

Replays show the ball cleared crossed the goal line

Despite Norwich attacking even harder in the last 20 minutes, they could not find the target. Forest players defended for their lives and played really well. The referee allowed some extra time, which frustrated the Forest team, but Norwich could not find a way through. The final whistle was blown and Nottingham Forest have won the FA Cup 1-0.

The Queen came back onto the pitch to award the teeny-tiny trophy to the winning team. She could be heard talking to one of her advisors that it was an awful match and she could not wait to get back home to her Corgis. Charming! The Forest players could not care, as they were too busy waving the trophy in the air and downing cheap champagne.

The Forest players celebrate as the Queen tries to hand over the trophy!

The results for all of Year 5’s FA Cup games can be found here.

Year 5 League Cup Final – Match Report

The players lined up on the pitch at the beginning of the match but sadly there was no-one famous to meet them today as Prince Charles was busy meeting homeless puppies at a local rescue centre. At least the teams got a good look at the giant trophy as they stood for their pre-match photo. The kit man for Newcastle was also disciplined just before kick off, as when both teams walked out they realised that the kits looked quite similar from a distance. The poor fans in row Z had no idea what was going on. Newcastle, who were assigned the away dressing room, should have worn their away strip! After that drama, on with the game.

Newcastle took a surprise lead in the first half against the run of play. A breakaway saw them go three players against two and they took the opportunity to score. 1-0 to Newcastle

Straight after half-time, West Ham were in command and a lucky deflection saw them equalise within a few minutes. Thank goodness VAR was not in use today as the West Ham strikers big toe looked slightly offside, although the West Ham fans claimed he had trimmed it before the game, so the goal was allowed stand! 1-1

West Ham equalise with a deflected goal

The game could have gone either way at this point. Newcastle were next to find a way through as their striker scored a fantastic goal from outside of the area as he lobbed the last defender, who appeared to be busy looking for his mum in the crowd. 2-1 to Newcastle.

Newcastle score from outside the box

Newcastle were counting down the seconds to the end of the game to win their first Cup Final, but in the dying seconds the ball ran to a West Ham forward. With the final kick of the game, West Ham poked it around the keeper to make it 2 -2. The crowd went wild as if the ball had not gone into the goal, Newcastle would have been declared the winners. The Newcastle players were stunned that the game was not over.

A fantastic strike from West Ham to take the Final into extra time

Extra Time
Both teams went for the win in extra time and it was only thanks to both goalkeepers that the score remained level. Firstly, the Newcastle keeper made a great save to push the ball out to the side line. With only a few minutes remaining, an opening was found by Newcastle and it was only down to the brilliance of the West Ham keeper that the ball stayed out. The ball cannoned off a defender and the keeper had to get back to his feet and push the spinning ball away. The score remained 2-2.

Penalties
For the first time, the League Cup would be decided by penalties. After the coin toss, Newcastle would go first. Newcastle scored first and West Ham missed their penalty, meaning Newcastle took the early advantage 1-0. Newcastle then missed their second and West Ham were able to equalise. It was honours even, until Newcastle stumbled and missed their 4th. West Ham scored to make it 3-2. Newcastle needed to score their 5th, which they did to make it 3-3 with one penalty left. West Ham stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to make it 4-3 after penalties and win the cup.

West Ham United win the League Cup for the second time

The results for all of Year 5’s League Cup games can be found here.