Stansfeld O&B stripped the Kent Reliance Kent Intermediate Challenge Shield from holders Metrogas with a ruthless display on a soggy Saturday night at the Phoenix Sports Ground.
Two goals in each half sealed the Shield for Stansfeld (Oxford & Bermondsey) – to give them their full title – with the two in the second half coming from Man of the Match Billy Shinners – the third generation of his family to play for the club as he explained to KSN after the game. “It means everything for the club to win the Trophy. My Dad (Bobby Shinners) and my Grand Dad (Billy Fuller) both played for the club so it means a lot especially as Grandad was here to see it too. It’s always good to get Man of the Match especially in a Cup Final when your team wins!”
For Metrogas, it was a sad way to defend the Shield which they’d won so gloriously twelve months before. Indeed it was a performance, particularly at the back that left boss Joe Glover seething when he spoke to KSN after the game. “Very disappointed by us tonight – we’ve defended very poorly! All four goals we conceded were down to mistakes and that’s not like us. The third goal right after half time killed us. We came out in the second half with a game plan but before we had a chance to do anything we’re three nil down and that was the end of it. We’ve done well to get here with a new side but they’ve outclassed us tonight really – it’s so disappointing!”
The Metrogas boss could have sensed it wasn’t going to be his side’s night from their first attack. Abbas Agoro did brilliantly to sprint away down the left, but as he pulled the ball back, the ball went between the three forwards that were desperately trying to make ground into the Stansfeld box.
From the very next attack, the holders were behind when Casey Kilillea made room to power home a right wing corner leaving Metrogas keeper Dan Edwards motionless.
Stansfeld were now well and truly in their stride as winger Freddie Sansom did as he began a display that really swung the game his side’s way. From his first galloping run, he found Micky Smith, who really should have done better. From the second, the Metrogas defence couldn’t clear and Sam Ryan thundered a drive just over, and from the third, Sansom was felled in full flight and Billey Jolley coolly converted from the spot sending Edwards the wrong way.
Metrogas could have pulled one back just before the break as Agoro and Charlie Payne combined and as the cross came over Billy Walton’s header flew just wide. Hope then for the holders you would have hoped going into the second half.
But Stansfeld had other ideas and within minutes of the restart they had all but sealed the contest, as they made room down the left and from a long hanging James Wade cross, Shinners arched his neck at the far post to loop as header beyond Edwards’ desperate dive and into the top corner.
Shinners then effectively sealed their victory before the hour from another superb Sansom cross. This time the Stansfeld winger’s ball into the box was magnificently met by Shinners and his header was coming out of the net before the luckless Edwards could move.
It could have been so much worse for Metrogas as after Shinners had shown how lethal he was in the air he then arguably was guilty of the miss of the season! After being played through, he rounded Edwards relatively easily only to then roll the ball across the face of the empty net and wide of the left post.
Metrogas’ night was compounded in stoppage time as Danny Gorman received a second yellow card and was sent off by referee Pollington whose performance throughout in ever worsening conditions was nearly faultless!
Afterwards a very proud Stansfeld boss Lloyd Bradley spoke to KSN. He told us, “I’m over the moon with the boys tonight –that was a great performance tonight. It wasn’t just the scoreline, it was the performance – it was the effort that the boys put in tonight that I was really thrilled with. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to dominate the Final like that, especially as it was against Metrogas who are our great rivals – we play on the same ground so there’s a lot of local rivalry. We expected them to be up for this tonight – I think they were, but the early goals in each half really settled us and it made it an uphill struggle for them from then on. We had to guard against complacency in the dressing room at half time being two in front – the whole conversation was about not slipping up; not going back out with the wrong mentality and making sure that we got the result we needed and wanted.
It’s a great club with a tremendous tradition and since I’ve been involved I’ve tried to play on that after the club lost its’ way a little bit in recent years. I wanted to try and recapture some of the history of the club and instil that into my players which they’ve all bought into which makes tonight so much more special. It’s very pleasing as we’ve been a bit inconsistent this season and I was hoping that the right side would turn up tonight and they did to be fair and they were spot on. It’s been a great night for us, it really has!”
METROGAS – Dan Edwards, Tom Gibbons, Danny Gorman, Aaron Seales, Abbas Agoro (Dan Hunwick), Billy Walton, Jack Gibbons, Charlie Payne (Charlie Roberts), Jack Lynch, Harry Rogers (Paul Hewitt), Alex Tarrant
Subs – Harry Dolby, Craig Martin
STANSFELD O&B – James Bradley, Charlie Burgess, James Wade, Terry Cohen, Casey Kilillea, George Martin, Billey Jolley (Philip Rogan), Sam Ryan, Billy Shinners, Micky Smith (Alan Buckingham), Freddie Sansom (Jesse Thackman)
Sub – Sean Beddon