09/05/2025 – RESULT – PETER ANDREWS CHARITY CUP FINAL & REPORT

CHELMSFORD CITY RACECOURSE

ESSEX & SUFFOLK BORDER FOOTBALL LEAGUE

PETER ANDREWS CHARITY CUP FINAL

GREAT BENTLEY FC.                                      2.         PENALTIES:                5.

SUDBURY SPORTS FC.                                   2.         PENALTIES:                4.

Date:   Friday 09^th May 2025.                         Venue: Coggeshall Town FC.

It’s a Friday evening in early May, the sun is setting over the pitch at Essex Senior League, Coggeshall Town FC, which pitch was also used by Stanway Pegasus FC, in the Thurlow Nunn, Division One North, this last season, tonight it is the final of the Peter Andrews Charity Cup. Lt. Col Peter Andrews, OBE is the President of the Essex & Suffolk Border Football League, and the cup was kindly donated by him for last season’s final played between Great Bentley FC and Cavendish FC with Great Bentley FC being the inaugural winners. Tonight, Division One champions, Great Bentley FC will be playing Premier Division, Sudbury Sports FC, an academy team consisting of seventeen-year-old, players, hopefully we are in for a good match. A decent crowd, in excess, of two hundred, had gathered around the accessible perimeter, of the well-appointed ground, which for this time, in a long season, still had plenty of grass, a credit to the groundsman.

The appointed Match Officials are Robert Wilcox, who would have John McGill and Steve Martin as Assistant Referees with Dan Goodman acting as the Fourth Official, in an often testing match, my personal view was they applied the “Laws of the Game”, to the full, of course some people will have a different view, but ask yourselves this, would you take up refereeing!

            Great Bentley kicked off, Sudbury Sports gained possession and pushed forward passing the ball to feet in the knowledge that their opposition were much taller and physically stronger, Brown (D) fouled Leeks, thirty yards from goal, Leeks took the free kick and after one bounce keeper, French saved on his goal-line. From the keeper’s clearance, Great Bentley gained a corner when Vaughan gave chase and forced the corner off Saunders, Sudbury Sports defended that corner well but Herbert picked up a stray pass and set up Mountenay, whose excellent shot was saved on the goal-line by keeper Arnold, the game had started at a lively pace and players from both teams were quick into any tackle. Drake received an early yellow card for a foul on Brown (D), many neutrals thought the card should have been a red one, but a defender on a yellow card after less than ten minutes is walking a tightrope! The Sudbury Management were very vocal in their encouragement, shouting tactics from the technical area, Smith (M) fouled Brown (D), once again the free kick from Herbert flew straight to keeper, Arnold, must do better was my thought there! Evans (G) thought he was fouled and voiced his thoughts, with his team still in possession play continued, when Sudbury Sports tried a high forward ball, either Copeland or Burch, central defenders for Great Bentley dealt with them comfortably. Great Bentley keeper, French was forced to punch the ball clear from a cross by Saunders, his opposite number, Arnold shielded the ball out with Brown (D) in close attendance, then Saunders fouled Evans (H).

            A free kick taken by Herbert was headed clear by Smith (M) and Evans (G) was shown a yellow card for not retreating at a free kick, they call that “delaying the restart”, so far, the match had been competitive but there was a long way to go. Great Bentley took the lead on eighteen minutes, a throw-in taken by Herbert was headed on by Evans (G) and when the ball fell loose inside the penalty area, leading goal-scorer HARVEY EVANS scored from close range. Brown (D) fouled Cooper, Herbert and Brown (D) worked the ball down the right side then a header from Copeland flew wide. Percival won a corner off Burch, taken short to Leeks whose left footed shot was well saved by keeper, French, at his near post. Brown (R) shielded the ball out for a goal kick when Leeks threatened, but Evans (H) fouled Saunders, Saunders took the free kick finding Lockwood, from his deft pass, CASEY LOCKWOOD scored a fine goal and bring the scores level. Vaughan fouled Smith (M) and Drake fouled Vaughan, perhaps in retaliation, inside the centre-circle, Herbert took this free kick, Copeland rose highest but headed the ball just wide, to be fair Sudbury Sports were giving their opponents little time on the ball. Saunders again conceded a foul, this time on Brown (D), again well defended and Cooper got forward only for Evans (H) to get back to defend a short free kick, play immediately switched with Brown (D) finding Evans (H) but Smith (M) defended well. Lockwood, inside the centre-circle fouled Brown (D), he seemed a marked player this evening, Cooper did well to clear a throw-in taken by Herbert towards Burch.

            Thirty minutes had now elapsed, a goal apiece and plenty of action in a fast game, Percival cut inside and sent a shot just over the crossbar, then a long clearance by Sudbury Sports matched Leeks up against Copeland, the ball took one bounce, Copeland was left to chase Leeks, a tug of the shirt was enough to concede a foul and in the “DOGSO” scenario, “denying of a goal scoring opportunity” Copeland was shown a red card. Lockwood took the free kick which went narrowly wide of the left hand upright, then Cooper crossed after rounding Peace, but keeper, French clutched the ball out of the air. Vaughan fouled Drake, to earn a yellow card, Mallinson took the free kick finding Fullilove whose shot was saved by keeper, French. Evans (H) was spoken too after he fouled Saunders, then shown a yellow card, Evans (H) was then held away from the ball by keeper, Arnold, as he shielded it out for a goal kick, this match had plenty of potential for more goals, keeper, French had to advance out of his penalty area to block the charge of Drake, Saunders was still running the gauntlet of a yellow card when he fouled Evans (G), the free kick from Herbert was poor and Saunders cleared as the half-time whistle blew.

HALF-TIME:    1 – 1.

            Before the second half re-start, Great Bentley made a double substitution, off went Mountenay and Evans (G) with Morton and McMahon taking their places, Fullilove took a run down the left side, but the first meaningful action saw Saunders foul Evans (H), that’s been a tight contest all game so far. Cooper took a short corner to Saunders, the cross was cleared by Burch and as play broke away, Mallinson was shown a yellow card for a foul on Brown (D) and almost immediately McMahon fouled Drake, another early caution for the substitute. McMahon had to use his pace to recover against Leeks, a tricky little player who is equally as quick, Leeks did get a shot away but high and wide, on fifty-nine minutes Fullilove skipped past Brown (D) but Herbert was covering however, the right-footed shot from Fullilove forced keeper, French to make a save on his goal line. Vaughan was caught offside from a pass from Evans (H), Cooper attacked against Peace, but his shot was diverted by the outstretched leg of Burch and Sudbury Sports had started this half with good intent, often quicker to the loose ball. Leeks jinxed one way then the other before shooting goalwards, keeper, French saved and Peace cleared the loose ball away for a corner, taken short to Fullilove whose shot cleared the goal.

            On sixty minutes, Sudbury Sports removed Drake, with Roberts taking his place, then two minutes later the injured Percival was replaced by George, and Saunders, eventually saw a yellow card for a foul on Vaughan. McMahon defended well against Leeks, Brown (R) conceded a cheap corner, which was cleared up field, Vaughan chased that down with Brown (D) in support but keeper, Arnold was quickly off his goal line to smother the ball, this game is still wide open. On sixty-eight minutes Great Bentley made another change, off went Peace and on went Smith (A) who had an immediate impact, pressing forward, he passed to HARVEY EVANS who controlled the ball before he swivelled to send the ball past keeper, Arnold and into the net, the ten men had gone ahead. That lead was almost immediately nullified, Leeks used some close control inside the penalty area, Burch stuck out a leg and Leeks fell to the ground, no problem, a penalty kick was awarded, ROCCO LEEKS confidently struck the ball home despite a fine effort from keeper, French who had guessed the right way. A quickly taken throw-in from Brown (D) fell to Fullilove with Brown (D) having to chase back to atone for his error, a free kick taken by Herbert was aimed at Burch, but keeper, Arnold was confidently catching the ball high inside the six-yard box.

With fifteen minutes left, Lockwood fouled Vaughan, Herbert took the free kick, but Vaughan was tackled by John and play broke to the other end, Leeks ran on and from his fine shot, keeper, French made a great save. On seventy-seven minutes, Herbert for Great Bentley was replaced by Wright, Smith (A) had the ball in the Sudbury Sports net but was flagged for offside, a free kick taken by Vaughan, saw Burch just inches away from connecting with the ball. Brown (D) was caught offside having been seen by Evans (H), this open game remained competitive, but could either team find that winning goal, in the final minutes plus whatever the referee adds-on! Another free kick taken by Vaughan was too easy for keeper, Arnold, and as we entered that period of time added-on, Cooper sustained ahead injury, a free kick taken by Morton, was destined for Burch but keeper, Arnold was quickly there to catch, his clearance went out of play which allowed Sudbury Sports to introduce Fuller and Lamb, maybe with an eye on a “penalty shoot-out”, they replaced Cooper and Fullilove. The remainder of the game saw attacks at both ends but nothing clear cut and we headed to the far end for the dreaded penalty kicks.

FULL TIME:     2 – 2.

PENALTY KICKS:

                        Sudbury Sports FC                             Great Bentley FC

R. Leeks:          Scores                          D. Brown          Scores                          1 – 1.

L. Mallinson:     Scores                          H. Evans:         Scores                          2 – 2.

B. Roberts:       Saved                           B. Morton:        Scores                          2 – 3.

G. Lamb:          Scores                          J. Wright:         Scores                          3 – 4.

T. Fuller:          Scores                          R. Brown:         Misses                          4 – 4.

C. Lockwood:    Misses                          A. Smith:          Misses                          4 – 4.

L. Mallinson:     Misses                          R. McMahon:    Scores                          4 – 5.

GREAT BENTLEY FC win by FIVE penalties to FOUR.

Turning to my choice of Star Players, firstly, lets commend both teams for an entertaining match, yes, there were eight cautions and a dismissal but there was nothing that warranted adverse attention and hopefully all those spectators enjoyed the match. For Great Bentley FC, a big team effort especially when reduced to ten players, for me, despite a caution, Vaughan epitomises how every player should play, he works hard, both in defence and when getting forward, and when taking over the captain’s armband, led his team well. For Sudbury Sports FC, yes, they play football most days, they were all seventeen years old and tonight gave a good account for their Club against physically stronger and experienced players, its sad that they lost on penalties but that is the lottery of having to decide a match that way, for me Leeks, for such a small player, led the front line well and certainly gave the Great Bentley defence some anxious moments.

The Cup was awarded by Lt Col, Peters Andrews who made a short speech before medals were awarded to the match officials, losers, Sudbury Sports FC and Great Bentley FC who have retained the cup, a cup played for by teams in Division One and two invited teams, in fact last season’s bottom two, Premier Division.

Teams:

GREAT BENTLEY FC. 

Colours:                        Blue & White striped Shirts, Blue Shorts and Blue Socks.

Team:

Jack French., Archie Herbert., Alfie Peace., Lewis Mountenay., Max Copeland (C1)., Jack Burch., Dale Brown., Ryan Brown., Jake Vaughan (C2)., Harvey Evans., Gareth Evans.

Manager:                      Jack Murray.

Assistant Manager:       Greg Taylor.

Used Substitutes:          Barnaby Morton., James Wright., Archie Smith., Ryan McMahon.

Unused Substitutes:      Blake Keogh-Kedar.

SUDBURY SPORTS FC.

Colours:                        Yellow Shirts, Blue Shorts and Yellow Socks.

Team:

Callum Arnold., Taylor Saunders., Mason Smith., Xavier Drake., Toby John., Alexander Cooper., Luke Mallinson., Sunny Percival (C)., Casey Lockwood., Talan Fullilove., Rocco Leeks.

Manager:                      Danny Laws.

Team Management:      Shane Leeks., Scott Egerton.

Used Substitutes:          Teddie Fuller., George Lamb. Charlie George., Ben Roberts.

Unused Substitutes:      Rhys Rowley.

Referee:                       Robert Wilcox.

Assistant Referees:       John McGill.

                        &:         Steve Martin.

Fourth Official:              Dan Goodman.

STAR PLAYERS:          Jake VAUGHAN                      (GREAT BENTLEY FC)     

                               Rocco LEEKS                          (SUDBURY SPORTS FC)