Eagles edged out in cup thriller

Kensington Dragons U14B Eagles 5 v 6 Yeading

The omens were not good. Brooding clouds, a no-show from the ref and a tetchy Hayes and Yeading turning out in faded tangerine – which meant our red-blooded Eagles had to play in hoops. But while they may have looked liked the floundering strangers of Loftus Road, our boys played like Dragons. Two goals down against the run of play, we made our trademark class deliver – and after fine finishing from one of our midfield Titans, a cheeky looping chip from our increasingly influential new winger took us into a tantalising lead. But beware the ides of St Marks. The treacherous London clay began to weigh heavily on our defenders’ feet and a late equaliser from Yeading’s bright number 9 brought a sombre sense of Cup-tie déjà vu: 3-3 and extra time. There would be no ‘Willesden wilt’ this time, though, and a furious 30 minutes brought five more well-fought goals. That not enough of those were ours to seal a highly deserved victory is of interest to statisticians and Middlesex Cup bureaucrats alone. To those intent on greater things, here was another performance to savour: style in adversity, grace under pressure. To Yeading a 5-6 win in a Sunday football match. To these still-golden Eagles, so much more.