Cheshire Plate Final

Knutsford 2 Neston South Wirral 1 (AET)

After a 7-year wait, Knutsford finally got their hands on the coveted Bentley Cheshire Plate at Oxton on Sunday. Losing on penalty flicks in 2000 became a fading memory when in Extra Time, Adam Locke scored the Golden Goal that brought the Norsham Trophy back to Knutsford.

Since Christmas, Knutsford have been distracted by this fixture and the League form has suffered. The season therefore rested on this result and it will live long in the minds of the travelling “Black Army”, sponsored by Atomy, who crammed into the Shawstone International Stadium.

Before the game, the heroes of the 2000 vintage, including Matt Walmsley and Nick Pedlow were paraded before the teams, and their support, along with the travelling fans were a factor in driving this resolute team forward.

Knutsford were determined to impose themselves on reigning champions Neston from the start and for 20 minutes Knutsford were magnificent. Knutsford defenders were practically spectators as the forwards exploited the nervous Neston start. Mat Hodge and Stuart Kenyon dictated the tempo, sending Piers Fielding and Tristan Baddeley on several attacking sorties. A goal was imperative and this was delivered in style as a quick short-corner caught the Neston defenders flat-footed. David Price held his nerve and slotted home a beauty.

Inevitably, Neston came back strongly and responded with a string of opportunities, including striking the post on one occasion. Knutsford for a time could not manage to get the ball out of their half, but the defensive quartet of Simon Squirrell, Simon Locke, Geoff Gallie and Hadrian Caldwell were defiant and thwarted Neston with some brave defending. Between the posts, Simon McCoy produced a succession of fine stops, including one miraculous reaction save.

The second half became an assault on the Knutsford goal as Neston threw caution to the wind and pushed for the equaliser. Still the defence held firm, even when Hodge was briefly sent to the sin-bin for an enthusiastic challenge. Nevertheless, with 7 minutes remaining Neston deservedly squeezed home a short corner to level this exciting Final.

As the contest entered extra time, Knutsford appeared to regain their energy better than Neston. Chris Drake, James Howard and Mike Power’s fresh legs helped Knutsford to become a threat once again. Mark Yarwood began to use his power to muscle his way through the defence and the supporters became ever more vocal. Despite this, it seemed that the stalemate might not be broken.

Seven years ago, this fixture was settled on penalties and Adam Locke missed the crucial sudden-death flick. Now in the second half of Extra Time, Locke fatefully escaped the attention of the defence and bore down on goal. The demons of 2000 were exorcised as he slotted home from a narrow angle to become the hero and send the players and spectators into delirium.

Simon Squirrel was rightly awarded the Belle Epoque Man of the Match award for an imperious display but it is amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares about who gets the credit. This was truly a team performance and each of the 15 players can consider the part they played as crucial to the win.

As Hodge held aloft the trophy, he put this down to focus “All winning teams are goal-oriented. Teams like these win consistently because everyone connected with them concentrates on specific objectives. They go about their business with blinkers on; nothing will distract them from achieving their aims.”

The curtain falls on the season next weekend but this game will live long in the memory. Match Sponsored by MPC Treasury. Match Ball sponsored by D&PM Sheldon.