The 2017 Kent Reliance County Cup Finals came to a glorious conclusion at K Sports Cobdown with the very first Kent Reliance Disability Cup & Trophy Tournament.
Each tournament was split into two groups and teams were selected to participate in which competition firstly by their position in the Kent Disability League or then by invitation – they came from afar; Charlton to the North & Folkestone to the South.
The games each consisted of ten minutes and the teams which could be mixed were open to anyone over the age of 16 and both competitions consisted of two round robin groups, followed by knock-out football in Quarters, Semi’s & Final.
During the day there were 70 games played (33 in the Cup and 37 in the Trophy) and as with the Junior event staged the previous week at Play Football in Gillingham, all the games were very competitive with the overriding theme being absolutely no back chat to the Referees – maybe the rest of football can take notice!
Overall most games were tight with only a couple of games one sided. All of the players involved played with a smile on their faces.
In the Cup, Swale Your Way Tigers fought their way to the final and faced Maidstone United Raiders Adult Gold. A hugely enjoyable game saw both sides going for it in normal time which failed to separate them, and as they were still level after extra time it went to a penalty shoot-out which saw Maidstone came out victors.
In the Trophy, Maidstone United Raiders Adult Bronze fought their way to the final & played Charlton Athletic Ability Counts Adult. Another hugely enjoyable game which also went to penalties, with Charlton coming out winners.
Charlton’s Manager, Lesley White, was full of praise for the day as she spoke to KSN after the presentations. “All of our teams have really enjoyed themselves, and I’m proud of them all – all the hard work has now got their rewards with a trophy. We’ve still got our own awards night to come and I’m sure the boys will get a great reception!”
It had been a busy day for Lorraine Humm, Head of Disability Football at Maidstone United Raiders, after seeing one side win the Cup and the other runners up in the Trophy.
She told KSN, “I’m really proud of all of the Maidstone teams that had competed today. I would like to say a great big thank you to Kent FA, and the Kent Disabled League for getting this Tournament on. It’s been a privilege to be involved and when you’re involved with Disability Football the good days outnumbered the bad – they really do!”
KSN also caught up with the losing Swale manager in the Trophy, Toni Godden, and she also had nothing but pride for her players.
“I’m as proud as punch even though they had lost. We were only invited to take part to see how it went, and although one of our teams went out in the group stage, for the other to get to the Final is fantastic. The boys are disappointed as they didn’t like losing on penalties, but we will be back… we’re already looking at joining a league but a big thank you for the organisers and the Kent FA for today.”
For Brian Gray, the Chairman of the Kent Disability League, after the success of the Junior event last weekend, this marked another huge step forward for Disability Football in Kent.
“Again, a massive thank-you to Kent FA for their help – we’d have a tough job without them! Today has been another massive success for everyone involved – all the teams enjoyed themselves and seeing so many smiles makes it all worthwhile.”
“The whole competition has been superbly run and organised by the County and Amy (Rutland), Lauren (Cundy) and Dwayne (Ellis) deserve a lot of thanks and credit.”
We asked Brian if 2017 would be just the start of County Finals Days. “I hope so,” the Chairman replied, “Both days have been a massive success and I hope that they can now become annual events!”
Match photos by PSP Images.
For more information about Disability Football in Kent, please contact Lauren Cundy, (Football Development Officer – Disability) on [email protected].