Jimmy Bullard was the star of the show as his Crayford One Bell side won the Kent Reliance Veteran’s Cup Final.

A crowd in excess of 400 descended on the Maidstone Road Sports Ground in Chatham for arguably the most eagerly Kent Veteran’s Final (sponsored by Kent Reliance) ever as the locals (Gillingham based Hollands and Blair) faced Crayford One Bell, whose ranks included an ex pro now starring on Sky Sports.

But whilst Hollands and Blair threatened the upset when central defender Dean Woodland beat One Bell keeper Lee Hayward to a deep cross to head home, it wasn’t Jimmy Bullard (he of over 300 Football League appearances and now of Sky Sports Soccer AM fame) who proved the difference – although it was he who levelled from the spot.

It was former Cray Wanderers favourite Drew Watkins, who was to prove the difference between the two sides. It was Watkins who was fouled for the penalty, and it was Watkins who headed his side in front ten minutes from time after Sam Prett’s had hit the bar, before Prett himself netted the third in the closing stages. Watkins was deservedly named as Man of the Match.

One Bell manager Chris Tulley was understandably happy when he spoke to KSN – he told us, “Really happy as we showed some real character going one nil down – over the moon. To win games you’ve got to take your chances – we missed enough first half and it was so frustrating that we didn’t make the keeper work for any of them. But we knew that if we kept plugging away we knew that more chances would come. It’s a great night for all us.”

For Blair player boss Ryan Plummer (who’d been laid low all week with the flu and only lasted 20 minutes at left back), there wasn’t the disappointment that you’d possibly expect.

He told KSN, “We only entered the competition almost as a reunion and to get as far as we did here tonight is a massive, massive bonus. They’re certainly without doubt one of the better sides that we’ve played in the two years we’ve been playing together, we gave a good account of ourselves and could have won it but we had a side who bar one player haven’t played out of County League football!”

“That’s the way it goes – we’ve had a great time in a competition well run; we’ll be back next year!”

In honest, it was a really enjoyable evening and showed this form of football in a great light. The players might not have the pace they once did in their bodies – and some of the waist lines proved that – but the crowd, which the watching Chatham Town officials would love to see at Maidstone Road every week, went home having had their money worth.

The opening half was very even with both sides having chances. Bullard sent a free kick a yard too high early on, before Blair’s Glenn Barlow was denied by a last ditch challenge.

Former Ashford man Paul Chambers then snatched a shot wide for One Bell, whilst Blair responded with Cliff Eldridge drilling a shot into the mid-drift of One Bell keeper Lee Haywood, before Chambers then missed the chance of the half – shooting wide from six yards with the goal at his mercy!

As the players began to tire, the second half was a great spectacle, and so nearly began with a wonder goal – Eldridge cut in from the left and curled a shot round Haywood only for the ball to hit the inside of Crayford’s left post before rebounding across the face of goal and away to safety.

Moments later, and Blair had the lead when Woodland’s out jumped Haywood to meet Barlow’s cross, and you felt that the Gillingham side had snatched their opportunity. But when Watkins went down in the box, and Bullard netted from the spot the game was right back in the melting pot.

It turned again within 60 seconds, as first the unfortunate Darren Blackburn could only steer Barlow’s cross onto the One Bell bar – on another day, the striker would have netted with aplomb – only for the Crayford side to break and win a corner, from which Watkins drilled home after Prett had hit the bar.

That also proved to be vital for Blair as it was at this point that Woodland hobbled off which broke up his partnership with Nicky Basden that had held the Gillingham side’s challenge together really well.

Woodland admitted after the game that he’d come into the game with an Achilles problem and shouldn’t really have played “but it’s a final isn’t it, and I didn’t want to let anyone down.”

The game was sealed in the closing stages when Prett took advantage of a defensive slip to drill the ball home past the luckless Mark Playford, who in truth had no chance with any of the One Bell’s goals.

The trophy headed up the A2, and a delighted Bullard told KSN after the game (after being involved with countless “selfies” with the crowd) that “to beat a good team in front of a decent crowd was great – it’s all about playing in front of people in a great competition and having a good time!  All in all, job done!”

And so say all of us…

 

CRAYFORD ONE BELL – Lee Hayward, Danny Frost, Phil, Collier, Jimmy Bullard, Graham Halls, Tony Munoz, Tom Dennington, Marcos Perona, Sam Prett, Paul Chambers, Drew Watkins

Subs – Dean Corrigan, Dave Ward, Jim Britton, Paul Davies, Peter Garland

HOLLANDS & BLAIR –  Mark Playford, Craig Harvey, Ryan Plummer, Grant Steele, Dean Woodland, Nicky Basden, Andrew Taylor, Ross Brookes, Glenn Barlow, Liam Tydeman, Cliff Eldridge

Subs – Ian Phillips, Darren Blackman, Kevin Thorburn, Peter Jarvis, Sam Tydeman

 

Pictures supplied by www.psp-images.co.uk