Wymondham Town United Vs Blofield United Youth – Stuart Dracup Cup Final 21-22

Harrod Sport Arena, 2:30pm

This afternoon’s affair saw Wymondham Town United take on Blofield United Youth for Cup Final Glory. It would be Blofield who triumphed and lifted the Stuart Dracup Cup at the end of the game following an exciting second half of action.

The game kicked off with an early chance for Blofield inside the first two minutes. Connor Gaskin penetrated the left wing down to the corner flag whipping the ball to Lucas Densley. A low strike demanded a quick save with Cameron Cane's feet as he prevented an early goalscoring opportunity.

The action was end to end as Wymondham immediately retaliated with a driven strike from Daniel Moses which zipped past the post.

This play was quickly followed by a counter-attack for Blofield which culminated in Gaskin forcing another acrobatic save by Cane, keeping his team in the game during the first ten minutes.

Both teams enjoyed even shares of the possession for the next period of the game with both teams having ample opportunities but not being able to finish in the final third.

In quick succession, the 10 minutes before half time saw two chances for Blofield’s captain, Brendan Mandinshona, who proved to be a deadly striking option for Blofield.

Wymondham appeared to be on the back foot in the minutes leading up to the end of the half waiting for a mistake to capitalise upon. Their best chance came from a sliced cross from the left which almost chipped Caedn Huckle in the goal; however, it wasn’t meant to be as it arched just over the crossbar. Nevertheless, Blofield kept pushing for a goal to break the deadlock.

In the end, it was Blofield who pulled ahead with the last kick of the half. Gaskin squared the ball to Mandinshona who calmly blasted the ball into the top-left corner of the Wymondham goal.  

Half Time – Wymondham Town United 0 – 1 Blofield United Youth

The late goal in the second half put Blofield in high spirits as they re-entered the game. Although the odds were against them being a goal behind, Town looked ready to mount a comeback as they stepped back on the pitch. The game kicked off with immediate pressure from Wymondham testing the back line of Blofield.

Wymondham were rewarded with their intensity as Freddie Folkhard won the ball back in the middle and switched play to Rhys Henry. Henry’s first-time volley worried the keeper as it narrowly missed the top-right corner.

Following a counterattack, it appeared Blofield were denied their second of the occasion following a crunching, last-ditch tackle by Cullum Harvey. However, moments later, Benji Loveday released Gaskin through on goal for him to neatly tuck the ball inside the post to secure the two-goal cushion for his team.

Despite trailing two goals to nil, Wymondham applied pressure in front of goal immediately after the restart. Moses battled for the ball in midfield and powered a long-range strike on goal demanding a catch from Huckle.

Town’s attack was rewarded for their efforts within minutes of this possession as a mistake from Blofield’s defence was capitalised on. A misplaced header to the keeper allowed Moses to go through one on one slotting the ball to the keeper’s left and hitting the back of the net.

The goal injected life into Wymondham as they began to entertain longer bouts of possession. The tight pressure tested Blofield’s defence who kept consistent in their brilliant defending. The biggest test saw a free kick being awarded thirty yards out for Wymondham’s Maksim Rancans to strike towards goal. This almost tied up the game as his lofted ball was fumbled by the keeper before being cleared off the line by Blofield.

With the intensity increasing between the team’s as Blofield looked to further their cushion and Town chased an equaliser, the crowd’s atmosphere became electric with cheers.

Ultimately, it was Blofield who enjoyed the most possession in the final moments as they extended their goal tally to three. Gaskin and Densley worked together creatively down the left to release Mandinshona who calmly beat the goalkeeper to doubled his goals for the day.

This concluded the goals for the day and cemented Blofield’s cup final victory.

Full Time - Wymondham Town United 1 – 3 Blofield United Youth

Line Ups:

Wymondham Town United: Cullum Harvey, James Hall ©, Daniel Moses, Juan Davila Smith, Rhys Henry, Joshua Northcutt, Freddie Folkhard, Baye Hill, William Carter, Cameron Cane, Eddie Hickey.

Subs: Ben Hooper, Maksim Rancans, William Percival.

Blofield United Youth: Caedn Huckle, Rio Grand, Micky Dunham, Sam Llewellyn, George Coldham, Brendan Mandinshona ©, Connor Gaskin, Benji Loveday, Leo Smith, Lucas Densley, Laurence Keating.

Subs: Joel Elder, Kallum Higgins, Ozzie Mehmet, Theo Bloomfield.

Referee: Jaden Lister.

Assistants: James Newman & James Barber.

Fourth Official: Vincent Were.

Attendance: 161.

Player of the Match: Brendan Mandinshona

Photography: Cyan Fullbrook, @cyan_rose