Saturday 1st April 2017 @ The Priory, Edgbaston

Harborne 2 – 3 Erdington and Saltley

Team: Gerard, James, Aidan, Taylor, Ilani, Blessing, Danny, Che, Reece, William, Kian B, Toby, Liam and Tiarno

Goals: Blessing x 2 and Ilani

Man of the Match: Ilani – an amazing showing of leadership from the Yenton baller. From start to finish, on and off the pitch, Ilani delivered the performance of a captain. 

After defeats to Derby and Aston over recent weeks, it was back to winning ways yesterday as the lads won a thrilling cup tie against Harborne Primary Schools. On a wet and sticky pitch, attractive, free flowing football was at a premium. Instead, the boys had to roll up their sleeves and fight for 60 minutes in an end to end encounter that enthralled all in attendance.

With Nathan a commanding presence in the heart of the Harborne defence, we found it very difficult to get through on goal. However the lads refused to stop trying and were rewarded in the 18th minute when Ilani got in behind Harborne and raced through on goal, before slotting the ball low past the keeper’s left.

With a slim lead to defend, The Ton boys almost grabbed a second goal early in the middle third, only for several Ton players to miss Toby’s tantalising right wing cross. To compound their frustration further, the Harborne right winger levelled shortly after via a cross come shot from out wide. Unperturbed, the lads simply dusted themselves off and retook the lead when Blessing burst into the box and fired high into the roof of the net. The goal once again showed the lads that the best way to get to the Harborne goal was by going up and over the Harborne back line.

The Ton made sure of the victory in the final third, when Blessing once again scored, this time tapping in from close range after great work down the right by Toby. Then with three minutes remaining on the ref’s watch, Harborne pulled a goal back to make for a very nervy finish. With Harborne throwing everything at Gerard’s goal, the Ton Army were left to chew their finger nails and contain their nerves.

The final whistle soon blew and for the first time all morning, the boys were able to relax a little. This was a great game and a perfect example of what we can achieve when we all pull together and work our hardest. Every single one of the boys contributed to this hard earned win. Every single one of the boys made an impact. It was a brilliant team effort. From Gerard’s stunning save in the first twenty, to William’s clever through balls and Aidan’s marauding runs down the right – all of the boys should be proud of themselves.

Well done lads!

Up The Ton!