A solid 10 team turnout for the first of two Christmas Cup tournaments for this year helped us raise a decent wedge of money for Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity. By the end of the event, no teams had a 100% win record, so the tightness of the standards made for a highly competitive event.
GROUP A
Group A got started with two games kicking off at the same time, but only one winner. Dench FC picked up a 2-1 win over Stockport Eagles while Wellspring FC picked up an impressive 0-0 draw against one of the pre-tournament favourites Duno FC. The Eagles stayed on for the third game in the group, but they had no more luck as they lost again, this time 1-0 against Inter Row Z. The third ’round’ of games saw a little controversy, as confusion reigned for a few minutes at the end of the Dench v Wellspring game, which eventually went down as a 2-1 win to Dench, meaning it was two wins from two for them. In a family affair, Inter Row Z drew first blood against Duno in what was looking like a must win game for Duno. The managed to turn it around and picked up a 2-1 win that put them back in control of their own destiny within the group. Any hope Eagles had of getting out of the group ended with a 2-0 defeat to Wellspring, who still had a chance of claiming one of the top two spots. The biggest game of the group was up next, as Dench looked to make it three from three against Duno, but Duno hit their stride in this one and ran out comfortable 4-0 winners. After a good start, Inter Row Z’s chances of qualifying looked all but over after they lost a second successive game, 1-0 to Wellspring, and Duno confirmed their place at the top of the group with a 2-1 victory over Eagles. Dench needed a win in their last game against Inter Row Z to ensure second place was theirs, and they just about got it, winning the match 1-0.
GROUP B
On paper, the first game in Group B looked like being a one sided affair as Sunday top division faced bottom. The game was tighter than many would have predicted, but it did end up going the way we’d have expected as J Stands Barmy Army beat FC Stront Bakken 1-0. A mix and match El Caliente side were up against it after the first round of games, as they were hammered 4-1 by Polish Army, while J Stands made it two wins from two with another 1-0 win, this time against Kelly’s Wanderers, who were the only non Ballers league team in the competition. El Caliente faced Stront Bakken next in a game both teams needed to win to retain a realistic hope of making the semis. Caliente’s bad start continued, as they suffered a 2-1 defeat that meant they would be out unless they could beat J Stands in their next game. A third straight 1-0 win for J Stands confirmed their place in the next round, while Caliente’s tournament was over before it had really began. The fight for second place was now a three way fight, and two of those faced each other next as Kelly’s Wanderers looked for their first points against Polish Army. A 2-0 win for Kelly’s saw them join their polish opponents and Stront Bakken on three points, but the Army had an immediate chance to hit straight back against Stront Bakken. A 2-0 win for the poles saw them go into their final round of fixtures still in with a good chance of qualifying, while Stront Bakken’s chances were now hanging by a thread. A 3-1 win for Kelly’s Wanderers against El Caliente meant they went into the final round of fixtures level on points with Polish Army, and the Army were up next with the tough task of trying to take points off J Stands, and a creditable 2-2 draw did just that. That point meant that Stront Bakken now couldn’t qualify, regardless of the result of their final game against Kelly’s Wanderers, with the Wanderers needing a win to go through. A 2-0 win for Kelly’s saw them claim second spot, earning them a semi final spot against Duno.
SEMI FINALS
Group A winners Duno took on Kelly’s Wanderers on pitch 1 in what looked like being a tough one to call, especially as Kelly’s had reeled off three straight wins after their opening game defeat. It was Duno who struck first, but Kelly’s hit back to take this one to penalties, and two misses from three Duno penalties was enough to send Kelly’s into the final.
The other semi saw Dench looking like facing an uphill battle against Group B winners J Stands, but it was the underdogs who struck first and the potential shock was on. J Stands struck back and once they had pulled themselves level they took complete control, easing to a 4-1 victory to see an all Group B final.
FINAL
These two teams met each other in the first game in Group B, with J Stands picking up a 1-0 win, but from that point on both teams had looked impressive in making their way through the tournament. J Stands would start this one as favourites, and they took the lead through Scott Stokes goal in the early stages. They had a chance to make it 2-0 a few minutes later, but Marcus Dean saw his penalty saved. They didn’t have to wait long for that second to arrive as Dean converted from close range, and despite Kelly’s best efforts they couldn’t find a way back into this one, and J Stands Barmy Army picked up the trophies from the first of our Christmas Cup competitions for 2017!
OTHER INFORMATION
11 players entered the draw to win a pair of tickets to a Stockport County game of their choice, courtesy of Richard at JR Sports, our football and shirt suppliers. Lukas Voveris and Declan Matthews from FC Stront Bakken, Dominik from Polish Army, and James Marshall from Stockport Eagles went into the draw for what they did on the pitch, while Shaun Mather, Paul Waugh, Alecs Pattison, Lee Bridge, Kyle Bell, Scott Stokes and Nicky Stokes all entered the draw as a result of making more than the standard donation to take part. The winner, picked completely at random, was James Marshall.
The full time result in terms of money to donate to Shelter after expenses had been removed, was £229.80. Thank you so much to everyone who took part, and hopefully we’ll have more of the same next week when we look to raise some money for Stroke Information.