Hampshire FA Cup Finals - Match Reports from Saturday

Saturday 1st April: On a cold and wet day at Alton FC, three more County Cup Finals took place. First up was the Saturday U12 Cup Final between...

This final was played at a high standard given the young age of the players, and some football played would not be out of place in some more senior leagues! The early stages were close, with neither side being able to break down their opponents, and as a result the first chance came on 14 minutes when Jake Martin of Aldershot Town had two attempts on goal, the first being blocked and the second going over the crossbar.

Three minutes later, Aldershot thought they had taken the lead when they had the ball in the back of the Fareham goal, only for the referee to award the Fareham keeper the free kick as the ball was kicked out of his hands.

Aldershot had a clear height advantage at set pieces and this nearly paid off 7 minutes before half time, as Archie Harris sent a header wide from 5 yards out following a cross from the right hand side.

Just as half time approached, Aldershot were awarded a penalty as the referee adjudged that a defender impeded the attacker by pulling his shirt, Jake Martin stepped up and slotted home to make the score 1-0 at half time.

Fareham Town began he second half much stronger, and levelled 5 minutes in, when Charlie Glasspool latched onto a pass a slotted home with a right foot shot across the keeper and into the far side of the goal.

Aldershot regained their composure and took the lead with again through Jake Martin with a quarter of the game left to play. After some nice build up play, it was left to Martin to tap home putting The Shots ahead once again.

Aldershot sensed an opportunity to finish the game off, and they would have done if it wasn’t for Kieron Moat in the Fareham goal pulling off a number of fines saves.

Moat’s hard work paid off for his team as they levelled for a second time 6 minutes from time, as Evan Nelson finished smartly.

The match finished 2-2, and was then to be decided by penalties. Fareham took the initial advantage as Moat saved the 2nd Aldershot penalty, but following two saves from the Aldershot keeper Jackson Izquierdo, Oscar Robertt dispatched the winning penalty as Aldershot won 6-5 in the shoot out.

For the later finals the weather took a drastic turn for the worse, but both finals still went ahead due to the excellent facilities at Alton FC.

The Girls U14 Final saw AFC Bournemouth CST take on Winchester City Flyers in monsoon like conditions.

A moderate sized crowd were running for cover, whilst all of the players were struggling to play football. Credit must be given to all for making a game worthy of note.

Throughout the game, AFC Bournemouth CST looked to gain the upper hand, and went in at half time, with late first half goals coming from Amber Treweek and Grace Morgan. Player of the match BeBe Smith added a third in the second half, as the Cherries looked in command.

Winchester City Flyers pulled one back late on, which was just rewards for their continued hard work for the fixture.

The Saturday U13 Final between Widbrook United and Curley Park Rangers got off to a flyer, with Seb Karczewski giving Curley the lead in the first minute from a long range shot.

Josh Smith doubled the lead soon after, which seemed to spur their opponents into life. Widbrook pulled a goal back just before the break when Dan Gifford netted, leaving Curley Park leading 2-1 at half time.

The second half was a tighter affair, and it took Reece Adams to bring the teams level with 8 minutes left, taking the tie to penalties.

Having gained the momentum with a late equaliser, the Widbrook team looked confident and so it showed as they won 4-3 in the shoot out.

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