The John Savage Cup Final Match Preview

This season’s John Savage Cup Final will be competed between Old Catton Juniors and Taverham  on Friday 5 April 2019 (7:30pm KO). Both teams compete in the Norfolk Combined Youth Football League in the Kappa U16 Premiership.

Last year the Final was held at the FDC’s Field of Dreams and was a tight battle between Firside Athletic and Attleborough Town. Having two completely new teams in the final who share a fierce rivalry will guarantee a thrilling Final.

Old Catton Juniors on the other hand currently sit in 4th position of the Kappa U16 Premiership, 7 points off leaders Taverham having played the same amount of games. In the League this season Old Catton haven’t won a single home game, losing two and drawing 3. They still have Attleborough left to play which is a big game for both teams as Old Catton will be looking for revenge as they lost to Attleborough 5-2 away the last time they met. Away however, just like Taverham, Old Catton are unbeaten winning all 5 games.

In the First Round of the Cup they got a strong win under their belts, beating Stalham Monarch 9-0. In the Second Round Old Catton faced Thorpe Rovers at home and hit the back of the net 14 times and keeping a clean sheet, booking their spot in Round Three. In the Third Round Old Catton met fellow Kappa U16 Premiership side Hethersett Athletic. In their League meetings Old Catton came out on top 3-2 away before a 0-0 draw in the second game at home. Thankfully for Old Catton the game against them in the Cup was a lot more comfortable, finishing 6-1. In the Quarter Finals Old Catton met opponents Ingoldisthorpe and again produced another outstanding result, the game ending 13-0 to the Juniors. Finally, in the Semi Finals they came up against another Kappa U16 side St Andrews Eagles. The League fixtures between these two sides saw Old Catton win away in a tight 1-0 match before a 2-2 draw at Lavare Park in their second meeting. Unlike in the League, this game was not as close as they won comfortably 3-0 in a home win. Although they are not doing as well as Taverham in the league, their Cup run has been second to none scoring a total of 55 goals and conceding only once.

Taverham, at the time of writing, currently sit top of the Kappa U16 Premiership on 25 points, 3 points clear of St Andrews in 2nd place. However St Andrews have a game in hand. So far in the League Taverham have won 4 out of 6 games at home but are unbeaten away, winning 5 out of 5 games. Their last away match is against Hethersett which will be another great contest following Taverham’s 6-5 win at home the first time they met.

As for their Cup run, the First Round saw Taverham have an Away Walkover against Norwich United Lions that put them through to the Second Round against Gorleston Hurricanes where Taverham came out on top in a 2-0 away win. In the Third Round they faced Drayton Turbos and notched an 8-0 away win. The Quarter Finals saw Taverham come up against fellow Kappa U16 Premiership team Attleborough Town. The game finished 3-1 to Taverham meaning they stayed unbeaten against Attleborough Town in both the League and the Cup, with 2 wins and 1 draw in 3 matches. In the Semi Finals, Taverham came up against Great Yarmouth Town, but this was no problem as they dispatched them in a 3-1 home win. Taverham are a team that have done extremely well in the League and the Cup and will be looking to pick up two trophies this season.

It promises to be an exciting game!

Old Catton Juniors U16 v Taverham U16

FDC (Field of Dreams)
05/04/2019
Kick Off 7:30pm
Adults £5, concessions £3