WELLINGTON AFC U9 boys managed to get both teams into the Plate finals, which brought the interesting prospect of having to play each other in the final or the third/fourth play-off match, depending on the results of their respective semi-finals.

The Lions were first on and were slow out the blocks against a very good Galmington side who took advantage and raced into a two-goal lead. The Wellington boys did their best to get back into the game but were sadly undone with a couple of further goals against them in the second half while pushing to score. Sadly, it was not meant to be this time for the Lions and they would have to settle for a third/fourth place decider instead.

The Tigers were next up in what ended up a very tight affair against a physical Woolavington side. Woolavington took an early lead through a scrappy goal which galvanised the Tigers who started to play some good attacking football but could not find a way past a very good goalkeeper. However, in the dying minutes, Lincoln Osborne equalised through a quick passing move with both Kit Pollard and Jai Gibson-Patel involved. The keeper did get a hand to the thunderous shot but thankfully it hit the bar and went in.

The game finished 1-1 and so it would be decided on penalties. Lincoln, Harley Badman and Jai put themselves forward and sorted out the running order themselves. All of them dispatched their penalties as did Woolavington meaning it was sudden death, Kevin Percuic saved the Woolavington penalty so it was up to Kit to win it which he did with a fine finish into the side netting and the Tigers were through to their first final!

Next up was the third/fourth play-off match for which the Lions did really well to pick themselves up after the disappointment of going out in the semis. Finlay White opened the scoring for the Lions, and after going close with a number of efforts – thwarted once again by a very good goalkeeper – they were undone by a soft goal to level the tie.

Things looked to be heading for yet another penalty shootout until Jasper Chapman hit a speculative effort from near the halfway line which managed to deceive the goalkeeper and scored what ended up being the winner.

The final was a tense affair with Galmington again racing into an early two-goal lead with some fine finishing. The Tigers managed to pull a goal back with a superbly taken effort by Jai who cut in from the left and curled the ball into the top corner. The boys pushed for the equaliser but were undone by a third goal from Galmington towards the end of the match and sadly it was not meant to be this time.

The boys were disappointed with their overall performances against a very good Galmington team who deserved to win the plate. However, they learned some valuable lessons and gained some really good experience especially how they handled the pressure of being in knockout competition and the penalty shootout.

Both Mark and I are really proud of their achievements – not just for Finals Day but throughout the season. And a big thank you to sponsors Howdens and VPK Packaging for their kits and Castle Holiday Parks for their training wear.

Sandy Patel