So Close

							It was the dying minutes of the game. Our earlier 1 – 0 lead wasn’t
enough to hold back Harlow and West Essex as they fought
through the rain and scored an equaliser. Extra time.
       My legs were feeling like jelly at this time, 5 more minutes to
go and it was such a tight game that nobody seemed like scoring.
Penalties weren’t an option. A lofted ball was put into the area,
flying side tackles from every direction, as the scramble in the area
carried on.
       The football was fired to the goal as the keeper had no
choice but to palm Ross’ shot away with his fingertips – only
carrying the ball to the 6 yard box. It was then bought to the back
of the net by Alex Addy. ‘We are in the final!’
       I jogged out through the tunnel to a roar from the crowd and
onto the pitch. My heart bearing so fast I thought it was going to
explode. The first half flew by 1 – 0 to Redbridge. Tension was
building. The second half didn’t feel like it was going o end.
       However, it wasn’t long before they scored an equaliser, and
what a stunner it was! 20 yards out rocketing into near enough the
top right hand corner. The keeper had no chance. We were getting
tired.
       Extra time was dreadful. Our concentration went, along with
our confidence, as seconds from the end of the second half a very
fast and well worked goal lost us the game. The ref blew the
whistle. We may have lost, but that was the best game of football
I’ve played. It was devastating, knowing we came so close. All of
the effort that was put into that one game: pointless. However
there is always next year….

                         Jake Burnage
                             9YF