Costessey Crowned Champions of Sunday Junior Cup
Costessey Crowned Champions of Sunday Junior Cup
Costessey Sports U18s edged out Martham U18s in the final of the Wensum Print Sunday Junior Cup at The FDC on Sunday 19 May 2024.
It was Costessey who created the first meaningful chances, with a corner from Lucas Stevenson being fired into the box, only to be deflected away by a wall of Martham defenders. Another promising opportunity came in the form of a free kick which was initially cleared away. However, it was Stevenson again who latched onto the deflection, delivering it into the box and onto the foot of Finlay Copping, who couldn’t direct his effort on target.
Struck towards the goal from distance, a venomous free kick from Zack Woodhouse was Martham’s first shot at goal, but it was met by the gloves of James Marshall in the Costessey goal.
Martham’s Jacob Smith was next to try his luck with an effort on goal as both teams were battling it out to find the opener. The deadlock was broken in the 18th minute when a dangerously whipped corner wasn’t cleared by Costessey. The ball ricocheted around in the six-yard box before being poked home by Harley Cornwell.
Towards the end of the half, Costessey’s Stevenson passed the ball into the path of teammate Bailey Oakley, who’s attempt to control the ball and squirm his way past the green wall of defence was cut short due to some good tackling.
Half Time: Martham U18s 1 – 0 Costessey Sports U18s
The opening seconds of the second half brought a meaningful chance for Costessey to equalise when Stevenson was presented with another shot at goal. However, his effort was unable to trouble the scoresheet as the Martham defense continued to hold firm.
Costessey equalised in the 50th minute when some great footwork from Joshua Blower freed space for Tyler Blyth to pass the ball to Bailey Oakley. Oakley was 25 yards from goal and his powerful effort caught Ollie Button out in the Martham goal, as his effort bounced into the bottom left corner of the goal.
Fighting to get back in front, Martham’s hopes just fell short when a free kick from Joshua Cole was off-target, only just flying to the left of the goal. A pass to Blower from Costessey’s Callum Cook also looked to create a chance at goal, but the back of the net couldn’t be found.
Costessey took the lead on the hour mark when a long diagonal ball forward from Oakley found the path of Lucas Stevenson. Stevenson then drove to the byline and squared the ball into a dangerous area inside the six-yard box. An unfortunate deflection nudged the ball just over the line as the diving Button attempted to claw the ball away.
Now they were ahead of their opponents, Costessey began to dominate play, forcing Martham to sit deep in their half and defend waves of attacks.
With their last chance to send the game to penalties, a Martham corner saw every player gather around the goal in an attempt to find the equaliser. But once again Costessey stood firm and cleared their lines to ensure they were Wensum Print Sunday Junior Cup Champions.
Final Score: Martham U18s 1 – 2 Costessey Sports U18s
Line ups:
Martham U18s: Ollie Button, Thomas Brown, Peter Brown, Harley Cornwell ©, Callum Cruikshank, Paul Belton, Zack Woodhouse, Jacob Smith, Rayne Burley, Jesse Fenn & Joshua Cole.
Subs: Josh Xavier, Dylan Grimmer, Sonny Cornwell, Ashton Rogers & Tyler Allen.
Costessey Sports U18s: James Marshall, George Eggett ©, Kieran North, Joshua Loveday, Finlay Copping, Joshua Blower, Lucas Stevenson, Bailey Oakley, Joseph Booty, Tyler Blyth & Muhammad Mair.
Subs: Harry Walker, Callum Cook, Liam Roche, Daniel Owusu Adu & Jacob Leach.
Referee: Tom Armes
Assistant Referees: Kevin Slater & Luke Alderton
Fourth Official: Scott Henn
Attendance: 235
Player of the Match: Joshua Blower
Photography: Cyan Fullbrook