Trade Mark Collections
East Cheshire Football League.
League Cup Final - 6th May
Neil Rourke Stadium , Woodley
Club AZ 2 Wilmslow Albion 4
John Whitehead 16’ Tom Gill 33, 69, 72
Neil Benney 74’ Danny Smith 67
Wilmslow captured the League Cup at the first attempt after overcoming a brave AZ performance on a night of mixed emotions at the home of Unibond League side Woodley Sports . Wilmslow were naturally ecstatic after their victory in a game they deserved to win but AZ were not surprisingly subdued after seeing Danny Vaughan carted off to hospital after a sickening collision which left him with a dislocated ankle and broken leg.
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| Club AZ's Matt Finnerty |
The game began tentatively with neither side creating any clear cut chances but it was AZ who took the lead on sixteen minutes when midfielder John Whitehead poked home a lose ball from twelve yards. The turning point came on twenty six minutes following Vaughan’s injury. Referee Andy Atkinson wasted no time in calling an ambulance and the game was delayed for over half an hour as paramedics attended to him on the pitch.
After the restart Wilmslow powered forward with Tom Gill causing all sorts of problems for a reshuffled AZ side. On thirty five minutes the pressure told as Gill was brought down on the edge of the box and he got up to curl a tremendous free kick into the net which left keeper Phil Ravenscroft clutching his post. It gave Wilmslow the momentum they needed going into the second half in what became an increasingly competitive game .
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| Wilmslow's Jonny Devine (blue) and Club AZ's John Whitehead |
The game was won in a seven frantic minutes midway through the half as Wilmslow scored three times . On sixty seven minutes Danny Smith was first to react to a through ball as keeper Phil Ravenscroft roared out of his goal and his first touch took the ball away from the advancing keeper enabling him to pass the ball into an unguarded net to give Wilmslow the lead. Two minutes later Tom Gill produced a thunderous shot from twenty yards to make it 3-1 and then with AZ really struggling completed his hat-trick minutes later with some neat skill. Back came AZ though and Neil Benney gave them hope when an accomplished finish with fifteen minutes remaining. Despite a late surge from AZ following the introduction of substitute Harry Wheatman Wilmslow were determined to hold on and secure their first piece of silverware in the ECL.
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| Wilmslow's cup |
