2008-2009 Season Reports

The Quarter Final line up this season has a bit of a split personality feel about with the top half of the draw containing 4 Liverpool sides. However, in the bottom half of the draw, there are 3 Southern teams and only 1 from the North!! Interestingly, only 1 team, Kings Sports (Herts) play in a Secular League, (the West Herts Premier) whilst the other 7 teams are representing just 2 Christian Leagues: The Merseyside (5 teams) and the Bromley & Croydon League with 2 teams. Five of the teams have never reached the NCC Final, whilst Mill Lane Churches West Derby (Liverpool) reached the Final in 2004, Focus Quest (Liverpool) won it in 2005 and Kings Sports, Herts have been in the Final a record 9 times, winning it in 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2006! New team St Aidans (Liverpool) are trying to emulate St Wilfrids (Newcastle) from last year and go all the way at the first time of asking but they must play away to Trinity (Liverpool) in the first of 2 Merseyside derbys, whilst in the second, Mill Lane host Focus Quest. Meols (Wirral), who have reached the Semi Final stage for the last 2 seasons are at home to New Life, Croydon and in the fourth game, Selsdon Baptist (Croydon) after last years long journey north to Liverpool, have the luxury of a home tie against last seasons Finalists Kings Sports (Herts) .

MEOLS (Liverpool) 1-0 Bentley Baptist (Doncaster) Bentley Baptist travelled across the Pennines to face a strong Meols side, which was a sort of repeat of the Semi Final 2 years ago, when Bentley played under the name of Doncaster Evangelical. Meols needed no motivation as they expected a really tough game and as predicted this was very close with defences dominating. Meols enjoyed the better of the possession but there were few chances until the referee awarded an indirect free-kick in the penalty area after what he deemed to be a pass back to the keeper. Meols scored from a well taken shot. After the break, it was much the same with the Bentley keeper the busier. The game was fiercely competitive but always played in the best of spirits and towards the end Bentley exerted great pressure on the MEOLS goal but their defence stood firm to reach the Quarter Finals for the third year running!

Trinity St Marys (Liverpool) 3-1 Genesis (Loughborough) All in all, a bit of a scrappy game on a small pitch, with not a lot of free flowing football. Playing with the wind, Trinity put Genesis under a lot of pressure in the first half and sneaked a goal when, from one of Trinitys trademark long throws, the striker got in between the keeper and defender to head home. Genesis hung on despite Trinity hitting the bar a couple of times and their keeper had to make some great saves. In the second half, Genesis, now with the wind, started playing some fluent football and created some good chances. The first 20 minutes was a bit backs to the wall for Trinity but they defended extremely hard, with Genesis unable to capitalise. Trinitys 2nd goal came from a great corner and was headed in at the back post. Genesis heads seemed to go down and space began to open up at the back as they pressed forward. The 3rd goal was pretty much a carbon copy of the 2nd and then Genesis managed a consolation goal towards the end. It was a good result for Trinity against a very decent Genesis side who, with time on the ball, played some lovely stuff. All in all, the game was played in great spirits and both teams enjoyed sandwiches and a couple of beers after the game.

Grassendale St Marys (Liverpool) 1-3 Mill Lane Churches West Derby (Liverpool) Match started with Grassendale probably playing the better football, moving the ball around well and looking lively, however unable to create any clear chances. Unfortunately a Grassendale player had to leave the field having dislocated his shoulder in a fair challenge from a corner. Mill Lane began to create some chances in response and scored as the Grassendale left side was left clear, allowing the right winger to run in unchallenged and slot past the goalkeeper. It looked like it would stay 1-0 to West Derby as half time approached, but Grassendale took advantage of some poor marking to head a equaliser past West Derbys stand in goalkeeper. West Derby started well into the 2nd half, taking advantage of the wind as they pushed to retake the lead but after a number of chances went begging until they did take a 2-1 lead with a flicked on header at the near post from a corner that curled perfectly into the far top corner. Shortly after, a third was added as West Derby broke through the centre and slotted the 3rd and crucial goal. Grassendale continued to battle right through to the end and putting a shot over the bar seconds from the end but Mill Lane held on for a well earned victory.

Selsdon Baptist (Croydon) 3-2 Bolton Ambassadors Bolton started much the better and they soon took the lead when their striker broke the Selsdon offside trap to finish calmly. Things went from bad to worse for Selsdon as one of their players broke his ankle in 3 places but despite the setback they managed to rally and force an equaliser when their skipper blasted into the roof of the net. It was now Boltons turn to suffer the wars, as their keeper got studded in the face following a point blank save. The Croydon outfit kept battling and they then took the lead with the simplest of tap-ins. However this game was beginning to be a real epic and Ambassadors were not to be undone in the comeback stakes as they pulled the game level just before the break, when a forward reacted the quickest following a fine save by the Selsdon keeper. This very close contest was won as early as the 55th minute when again, the Selsdon captain proved to be the hero, finishing a fine team move with aplomb. Despite Bolton pressure, Selsdon hung on for a very hard earned victory!

St Aidans (Liverpool) 4-3(aet) Kirkby Christian Fellowship (Liverpool) St Aidans, in their first ever season, have taken the NCC by storm this season, with a 6-0 win against Stockton Churches (Durham) and an amazing 7-0 win over last seasons Quarter Finalists, South Parade (Liverpool). So in yet another Merseyside local derby against Kirkby CF how would they fare? Kirkby play in the 1st Division of the Merseyside Churches League with St Aidans having to start life in Division 3. Would the gap be too much this time around? St Aidans started like a train and went 3-0 up by half-time. There was real half-time stir up in the Kirkby camp as they came out a different team in the second half and showed amazing character to stage a real fight back. Kirkby had managed to claw the game back and were 2-3 down and managed to get the equaliser with just 5 minutes to go. However in a great cup tie and a very tense period of extra time, one of the St Aidans substitutes managed to grab the winner!

New Life (Croydon) 3-2 Bridge Street United (Leeds) In a real game of two halves, Bridge Street dominated the first, winning all the important tackles putting New life under considerable pressure. They managed to converted a high percentage of possession into two goals by the break and in fact should have sown the game up but failed to take advantage of a number of good chances. Croydon started strongly in the second half and were competing much more. After 15 minutes they pulled a goal back from a corner and within 2 minutes scored the equaliser. Bridge street buckled under the pressure and conceded a third within 5 minutes. Once ahead, New Life never looked like giving it away. The game could have gone either way, but New life held out with what turned out to be a well deserved win, in a game played in a good spirit and well refereed.

Focus Quest (Liverpool) 3-0 Gold Hill Baptist (Bucks) Focus Quest were expecting a tough game against Gold Hill who led their League and those expectations were proved right. The visitors started the game brightly, looking very fit and controlling the game from the start. Focus Quest hung on, hoping that the pace with which their opposition were playing couldnt be maintained! However, completely against the run of play Focus opened the scoring after a scramble from a corner. From that point, Focus relaxed and played good football. Again, from a set piece, Focus scored a second from an audacious overhead kick which the keeper should have dealt with better! HT 2-0. Gold Hill tried but failed to make any real attempts on goal and Focus Quest now managed to continually threaten on the break and indeed scored a third after a player managed to win the ball back as a Gold Hill defender was shielding the ball out of play. The Focus forward cut back inside and hit a powerful shot into the top right hand corner. Gold Hill had a late chance but it went begging when the striker couldnt control the ball. Focus were delighted to beat such a fit and organised side and enjoyed some great food after the game, looking forward to a big local derby against Mill Lane in the quarters!!!

Kings Sports (Herts) w/o v Emmanuel (Cardiff) Kings who would love to reach their 10th NCC Final this season, spent a vacant afternoon as their opponents had to pull out in the morning after struggling to get a team together. It was shame as Kings were expecting a real battle from a young side who had had a decent victory in the previous round against a strong Westside Wandsworth team. Kings now travel to Selsdon Baptist, Croydon, which has all the makings of a tight affair against the conquerors of a strong Bolton Ambassadors.

The National Christian Cup - 2008 / 2009
Sharpshooters List (Up to and including the 3nd Round)

Position	Name	Goals	Team	Matches
1st	K Gibbons	7	St Aidans, Liverpool*	3
2nd =	M Stevenson	4	South Parade, Liverpool	2
	R Watson	4	Swallownest Bethesda, Sheffield	2
4th =	C Ennis	4	St Aidans, Liverpool*	3
	P Erasmus	4	Emmanuel Cardiff	3
	B Milton	4	Mill Lane Churches, Liverpool*	3
7th =	K Bandara	3	Kings Sports, Herts*	2
	J Chandler	3	Ossett Logos, Yorkshire	2
	P Gray	3	Focus Quest, Liverpool*	2
	A King	3	Bolton Ambassadors	2
	M O’Rourke	3	St Thomas More ARYPT, Coventry	2
	M Tyler	3	Genesis Loughborough*	2
13th =	P Adshead	3	Gold Hill Baptist, Bucks*	3
	L Ash	3	New Life, Croydon*	3
	J Burgess	3	Bridge Street United, Leeds*	3
	I Hasell	3	Selsdon Baptist, Croydon*	3
	N Hayes	3	Mill Lane Churches, Liverpool*	3
	B Keen	3	Emmanuel Cardiff*	3
	C Williams	3	New Life, Croydon*	3

Stats based on result cards received by 23/2/09 ~ Loads of players on 1 and 2 goals!
* Teams still left in the Competition!

National Christian Trophy

A look ahead to the Quarter Finals

As we move closer to the 2nd ever National Christian Trophy Final, the spread of teams for the Quarter Finals is fairly even with 5 Teams from the North and 3 from the South. All these teams play in or are connected to Christian Leagues: The Merseyside (3 teams), the Herts & Borders (3), the South Manchester and the Derbyshire Leagues. It is difficult to know who are favourites to get to the Final but we must assume that all teams have a real chance! The 3 Merseyside teams seem to be strong, with two of them, Anfield and Elim Bootle in the bottom half, so it would come as no surprise if one of them made it to the Final, although Welwyn St Marys (Herts), last seasons Trophy Finalists and AFC Mansfield will want to have a strong say in that particular scenario!! In the top half, it is wide open, with Croxley Baptist, Watford, NCC Quarter Finalists in 2007, hosting new team Hazel Grove Baptist (Stockport), whilst Atlantic Electrical (Liverpool) travel down to Wymondly Christians (Herts). The Trophy Title is very much there for the taking!

Hazel Grove Baptist (Stockport) 3-1 Hazlemere Saints (Wycombe) Hazlemere effectively shot themselves in the foot conceding twice in the opening 8 minutes. After only 3 minutes a solid 50/50 tackle saw the ball rocket into the roof of the net and 5 minutes later, a Hazlemere player gave the ball away on the edge of their own area and was tucked gratefully into the corner! Hazlemere responded well, gradually getting back into the game but had a seemingly good goal disallowed for offside and then hit the post! Hazel Grove then broke down the right and a shot from a narrow angle crept through the mass of legs and over the line! The 3-0 deficit at half time was a daunting task but, with the wind at their backs, Hazlemere dominated and eventually pulled one back on 65 minutes. Hazlemere then hit the bar before the referee gave a clearly onside player, offside, when he only had the keeper to beat! So, a spirited second half from Hazlemere Saints but not quite enough to recover from the opening 8 minutes in a game played in good spirit.

Wymondley Christians (Herts) 3-2 Westside Reserves (Wandsworth) On a day where the wind made it a true game of two halves, Wymondly came out on top of a very close game. They went one up after 10 minutes but should have then gone down to 10 men following a two footed tackle but the Ref only gave a yellow card. Ironically, this player then scored a minute from half time to make it 2-0 to the Hertfordshire side! Westside now played with the wind, dominating the second half and reduced the arrears with a fantastic headed goal to make it 2-1. Westside piled on the pressure to try and level the game up but Wymondley defended well. In a great end to the game, Wymondly broke away to make it 3-1 with just 6 minutes left only for Westside to score again with 4 minutes to go. Despite trying hard to equalise, it was too much for Westside as Wymondly held on, in a game played in good spirits.

Magnificent Ministries (SE London) 0-3 Elim Bootle (Liverpool) Elim Bootle made the long journey south to London, with the travelling not seeming to have any adverse effects whatsoever, as the pinned their opponents in thier own half for over 20 minutes. Elim pressed forward at every opportunity throughout the first half and had numerous chances. However despite all the pressure and the one way traffic, it was Magnificent Ministries who carved out the clearest chance of the first half, so nearly scoring against the run of play! A somewhat surprising scoreline at HT, 0-0. Elim continued to press forward throughout the second half with the same pattern re- occurring, as they again failed to take advantage of several goal scoring opportunities. However, the pressure eventually paid off but it came courtesy of the penalty spot. The Elim scorer has now scored in every round, so far! This penalty was followed shortly after by another but was missed, as Elim continued to try and make life as difficult as possible for themselves!! The miss did seem to galvanise Elim as they finally got their act together and scored 2 goals in quick succession!

Atlantic Electrical (Liverpool) 4-0 Testwood Baptist (Southampton) On a very windy day, Atlantic started the stronger and scored early on. Testwood then began to get travel weariness out of their system and got back in the game. Atlantic were then having to defend strongly against a lot of dangerous aerial attacks from the Southerners but were able to soak up all that was thrown at them. HT 1-0. Testwood started the 2nd half with a lot of good possession as they sought to get back in the game but again tough defending kept Atlantic ahead. As the half wore on Electrical managed to step up the pace and scored a 2nd, when the Testwood Manager flagged to indicate the ball at an Atlantic corner was not in the quadrant. However his players had cleared the ball before the referee saw his flag and asked for the corner to be retaken. Atlantic then scored from retaken corner!! (Oh the joys of being honest!!!) Testwood then pushed hard to pull something back but, with gaps appearing, conceded 2 late, well taken break away goals. The game had no malice or real viciousness and although Atlantic won well, the score slightly flattered them!

Mansfield AFC 4-3 Kirkby CF Reserves FC (Liverpool) Mansfield started off really well, creating some good chances. Passing was very difficult for both sides due to the uneven pitch and muddy conditions but both teams worked hard to produce a really entertaining end to end game. Mansfield scored the first goal with a good move and good finish but Kirkby equalised pretty much straight after. It was all very close as both teams had periods of pressure, with 3 more goals coming in a very tense first half. Mansfield took a narrow 3-2 lead going into the second half. The game continued to be very tight all of the way through. Mansfield thought they had wrapped the game up, when a Mansfield player completed his hat-trick. However, there was still time for more tension, when Kirkby scored with around 10 minutes to go, making it a very entertaining finish for all spectators. Mansfield managed to hang on to their lead putting them through to the next round.

Littleover Christians (Derby) 0-1 Welwyn St Marys (Herts) St Marys kept up their successful away-day National Trophy form from last season, which saw them reach the first ever Trophy Final. The pitch was very sticky and it was an achievement that the game went ahead at all. The teams surprisingly produced an evenly matched flowing game, with St Marys going close on a couple of occasions and Littleover hitting the woodwork twice. The first goal would always prove important as the pitch sapped the energy of all players. The deadlock was broken by St Marys after 30 minutes, when a corner was flicked on and converted at the far post. Littleover continued to press for a reply and looked to have got it when St Marys keeper Tony Earle gave away a penalty following an attempt to take a Littleover cross. However, the chance was missed when the ball was fired high over the crossbar with the keeper well beaten! The second half was much the same, although naturally Littleover pressed the harder to overcome the deficit. St Marys held firm with some tigerish defending right through the team for a close but well deserved victory.

Anfield FC (Liverpool) 3-0 Derby City Church This was a great game of football from both sides. Anfield dominated from the start, creating some great passing moves, which saw them squander some good chances. Derby began to lift their game after 20 minutes of backs to the wall defending and the game became very even for a while, so much so that it could have gone either way. However, Anfield made the breakthrough, to make it 1-0 at the break. Derby kept battling to try and break down the Anfield defence but the Merseysiders stood strong. Anfield had missed a few clear chances but towards the end of the game, Anfield broke through to score 2 more goals, with an Anfield player scoring his first ever hat trick! The atmosphere was great from spectators and players alike and everyone enjoyed soup and sandwiches after the game.

Croxley Baptist (Herts) 4-1 Mordern1 Baptistas (Surrey) Mordern Baptistas, new in the Competition this season, started off on the wrong foot as their key midfielder arrived late. Croxley raced into a 4 goal lead within the first 25 minutes. They totally dominated proceedings as Mordern struggled to find any organisation and rhythm at all, not coping with the creativity of the Croxley midfield. The first goal was a chip from the edge of the penalty area and then the Mordern full back was turned inside out before the Croxley forward slotted home for the second. More goals quickly followed to finish the game as a contest. To make matters worse, Mordern suffered quite a nasty injury, which by and large nullified their options up front! HT 4-0. The second half saw a rejuvenated approach from Mordern, with the late addition of their half-injured young star. They clawed one back but had left far too much to do. A late consolation after a bit of a mix up in the Croxley defence, was all they could muster as Croxley ran out convincing winners!!

The National Christian Trophy - 2008 / 2009
Sharpshooters List
(Up to and including the 3rd Round)

Position	Name	Goals	Team	Matches
1st =	S Davies	5	Atlantic Electrical, Liverpool*	3
	J McVey	5	Atlantic Electrical, Liverpool*	3
2nd =	K Grafton	4	Mansfield AFC*	3
	J McDonald	4	Elim Bootle, Liverpool*	3
	R Pike	4	Wymondley Christians, Stevenage*	2
	D Taylor	4	Mansfield AFC*	3
	S Young	4	Wymondley Christians, Stevenage*	3
8th=	G Bradbury	3	Wymondley Christians, Stevenage*	3
	M Calloway	3	Atlantic Electrical, Liverpool*	3
	C Garvey	3	Anfield, Liverpool*	3
	R Woodruff	3	Elim Bootle, Liverpool*	3
	H Young	3	Hazlemere Saints, Wycombe*	3

Stats based on result cards received by 14/02/09 ~ Loads of players on 1 and 2 goals!
* Teams still left in the Competition!

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