L4 Football Academy 5 vs 2 Eldonians

Having been knocked out on penalties last season at the semi-final stages vs Falcon Juniors, we were looking to go one better this time around in the final which saw us up against the holders Eldonians who were set to play their final game as a team after it was announced they will be folding. With Jamie Jeffers unavailable Pablo got the nod over Connor at right back and Anthony Cooke was given the defensive midfield role that trialist George Walker had performed impressively in friendlies vs both South Liverpool and Mersey Boys. That gave licence for Paddy and Dan to play as more advanced midfielders behind the front three of Ross, Gift and Alex who were all still in with the hunt of the golden boot. As expected in a final it was a tense start with both teams not really settling, it was Eldonians who struck first when a fierce free-kick was whipped in in the 11th minute, neither Sam or Jay dealt with the pace on the ball and the resulting header was dispatched past a helpless Harry. That appear to wake us up and we began to grow into the game however failure to beat the offside trap was costing us on the break. Alex McDonald was revelling in a wide left position as part of the front three and two assists in as many minutes first saw Gift head the equaliser followed by a tap in for Ross which gave us a slender half time lead.

The second half took it's toll on Eldonians who only had the one substitute and they struggled to live with the pace and energy off the front three. Alex was unlucky on 42 minutes when he exchanged passes with Dan and struck an effort which rattled the bar, the rebound was tapped home by Ross to make it 3-1. Gift then made it 4-1 following some great work by Anthony Cooke and despite Eldonians scoring again in the 54th minute our number 11 completed his hat-trick with his second header of the game which came courtesy of some fantastic play and a terrific cross from Alex. It was Gift's 18th goal of the season which is way short of his return last campaign however it was enough to see him claim back to back golden boots but more importantly after a rollercoaster season it saw Paddy lift our first domestic silverware on a Sunday for over four years, here's hoping it will not be that long before we repeat that feat. Well done to all the lads for their hard work this season Up The L4 and lets go again stronger, fresher and hungrier in 2019-20.