Kensington Dragons U12 0 V 3 Parkview Rangers. Middlesex County Cup
A depleted Dragons team missing their top scorer and regular goalkeeper took on a Parkview side sitting at the top of their league and brimming with confidence. There were doubts whether the game would actually take place after an early morning deluge but the sun came out bang on time for the noon kick off, making ideal conditions for the cup tie.
The early exchanges were high-energy with most of the action taking place in the Dragons half. It wasn’t long before the visitors took advantage of their superior possession and broke through to take the lead. The Dragons battled hard after going behind and went into the break just the one goal down. They were definitely holding their own against the team from the higher division. In the second half the Dragons’ midfield showed flashes of composure and class as they tried to impose themselves on the game and work the ball to Felix, up front. But the final pass just couldn’t find it’s way through and the lone striker found himself feeding on scraps for most of the match. Enrique, more used to bearing down on goal than standing in one, put in an accomplished performance to deny Parkview a handful of times. And it was the Dragons’ defence, normally so rock solid, who weren’t quite on song this week. They switched off for a well delivered corner and got pulled out of position from a throw in and were punished both times. With a three nil lead you would have thought that the team from Tottenham would have been happy with their performance but unfortunately it just revealed their nastier side. They resorted to some totally unnecessary rough stuff and inappropriate banter which the referee chose to ignore. Did he actually have a whistle? He didn’t seem use it much if he did.
The home team did have a chance to register a goal in an attack that ended up in a spell of goalmouth pinball but Parkview somehow managed to keep the ball out of the net.
So a three nil home defeat and no fairytale cup run for the under 12s this year. But there were plenty of positives to take out of this match. The boys played with real purpose and endeavour and they should be proud that they held their own against a team who went the whole of last season undefeated. Well done Dragons.