Battle-lines drawn for Camden Sunday League Challenge Cup final
Peel and Mostyn win through in our prestigious Sunday League Challenge Cup
Published: 4 February 2010
by STEVE BARNETT
THE big showdown has been set. In just under three weeks’ time Sir Robert Peel will take on Mostyn FC in the grand final of our prestigious Camden Sunday League Challenge Cup.
On paper Mostyn will go in to the big final, which will be held at Cockfosters Stadium on Sunday, February 21, as slight underdogs because they are taking on a team that play a division above them.
When you look at the facts and figures, however, it’s hard to separate the two teams. Mostyn are eight points clear at the top of Division Two, while the Peel have yet to win a single league game in the top flight having taken just one point from six games.
It all points to the closest fought final in years.
In the semi-finals on Sunday Mostyn put in a solid team performance as they came from a goal down to beat title rivals Lord Tredegar at Hackney Marshes. Having fallen behind early on, Mostyn continued to create chances and were rewarded on the stroke of half time when Daniel Rowland headed home the equaliser.
The comeback was complete midway through the second half when Jerry Jairette scored with a close range header to seal a 2-1 victory and send Mostyn into the final.
Meanwhile Peel needed extra-time to see off their opponents Cobden Athletic. Despite a slow start, Peel edged in front when the ball fell kindly for John “Bobotov” Purcell to slot home from close range.
It looked like it was going to be a simple stroll into the final when Purcell latched onto Stevie Nicolaou’s cross to double the advantage with his second goal of the game. To their credit Cobden Athletic, who have themselves struggled in Division One this season, battled back to level the scores and force referee Steve Kelly to put an extra 30 minutes on the clock.
With just two-minutes of extra-time left Peel, who needed penalties to see off Phoenix in the quarter-finals, made the breakthrough when captain Troy Ryan smashed the ball into the back of the net to wrap up a thrilling 3-2 victory.