It wasn't pretty but it sure did take a lot of hard work and concentration.
After holding the home team to 0-0 after full time and extra time, Falcons booked their place in the GFSN Cup Final, defeating Stonewall 4-1 on penalties.
With potential glory in sight, manager Kev found himself with a huge squad to pick from. In changes from the Birmingham drubbing, Ian, Richard, Jaime and Jordan all returned, while Conal took his place up in goal, in front of Josh.
Stonewall had a mix of players from their three teams on show but lost captain Doug early on when a knock to the head resulted in him making an exit.
Pete hit a left foot volley straight at the keeper after a couple of minutes but the remainder of the half was a very tight affair with the Falcons defence having to be on their toes to prevent danger from the opposition goalkeer's long, and wind-assisted kicks. The best chance of the half fell to former Falcon Kieran at the far post but his volley was well tipped over by Conal.
The second half and extra time were more of the same. Stonewall did have the majority of possession but were unable to create many good chances. The Falcons saw their best chances on the break where Bruce shot wide from long distance and Jordan narrowly failed to get through one-on-one.
And so to penalties. For once, there was an air of confidence leading into the shoot-out. The two teams faced each other in the semi final of the Titans Tournament earlier in the season and Conal saved three penalties to help Falcons win. This time, he only needed to save two as Falcons struck four excellent spot kicks to book their place in the final.
This was a performance that was big on effort and concentration rather than high skill and slick passing. The resilience that had been missing for so long was back and it was a tribute to all of the team that their desire to keep the opposition at bay resulted in a spot in the final.
We now wait for the second semi final to be played between Soho FC and Mersey Mauraders before we find out where and when the final will be played.
Until then everyone can give themselves a huge pat on the packs. We're in the final!
Team:
Conal
Aew
Ben
Josh
Richard C
Pete
Jordan
Ian
Jaime
Eoin
Bruce
Subs:
James
Stefano
Dean
Ritchie
Dan