FirParkCorner FC at WorldNET - Report

Against Sheffield

The four who stayed in the halls of residence, Del, Topper, Fraz and Scott R, had a late night drinking but this paled in comparison to the efforts of the rest of the squad. No doubt lots had already been consumed before Moysie and Marshall decided to hit the town. Stevie didn’t even make the first game on Saturday morning and while Moysie’s body was there, his mind was left somewhere in Leeds city centre.

Unsurprisingly, the team got off to a less than inspiring start against Sheffield Wednesday but astonishingly they were only 1-0 at half time. FPC staged a remarkable comeback and dominated the second period. Frazzle equalised but an incredibly dodgy penalty (even the linesman admitted it was a dive) gave Wednesday an ill deserved win.

The next game was against Derby and FPC continued to play well. They were 1-0 up thanks to Topper sclaffing an effort into the bottom corner – ‘it went where I meant it go, alright’, - and three points looked a certainty. However, the ability to shoot themselves in the foot has never left FPC and two stupid goals in the last four minutes meant that Derby left with the victory.

Results earlier in the day meant that the day’s final game between FPC and QPR B was meaningless. FPC were determined to finish on a high though and dominated the game from start to finish. The goal didn’t look like coming until FPC were awarded a penalty. Del the goalie stepped up to dispatch what turned out to be a very vital winner indeed…

Sheffield again

The tournament split into two on the Sunday with the top teams in the group playing for the Cup while the bottom pair went into the Plate. FPC finished third in their group and were seeded in the plate draw. The plate was due to kick off at 8am on Sunday morning but FPC were drawn against St Mirren – who had elected to go home after injures and withdrawals left them with only eight players! That meant that FPC received a bye in the first round and were allowed a long lie after another night drinking and a kick off at the more respectable time of noon.

The halls four were joined by manageress Piglet, Captain Moysie and ‘keeper Del for a night in the bar. Most teams had chosen to head into Leeds that night but FPC, Coventry, Ayr and a couple of others elected to stay in. The inevitable singing was started by the Coventry lads and lassies who had a particular liking for one rather repetitive and bizarre number. FPC felt honour bound to respond and were left hoarse the next morning. However, the attempt to have a world record length rendition of ‘Joe Wark Knew my Father’ fell apart after a pathetic 35 seconds due to toilet runs and the need to beat last orders.

The Sunday long lie was welcomed by all although some took the opportunity to have a leisurely fry up and watch some of the other teams. Rangers lost out to a golden goal by Arsenal, Hearts lost on penalties to Birmingham and the Coventry boys delivered on their promise to beat Airdrie. Cheered by this good news, FPC were looking forward to their second round game against Ipswich. A comfortable win followed and this gave the team a lot of confidence. Mitch and Marshall were on the scoresheet but it was Gilly’s excellent run and finish that stole the show in the 3-0 win.

Nottingham Forest B were waiting in the quarter finals and despite a good first half for FPC, the teams went in level. Forest took the lead with a penalty at the start of the second half but FPC rallied and came back into things. Moysie scrambled an equaliser from a free kick and Del almost scored a last minute winner but his effort grazed the bar. The golden goal period was tight and short of chances but a stroke of luck won it for FPC. Junior hit a solid shot and a wicked deflection ensured that FPC would be in the semi finals.

Man Utd defeat Gillingham in their quarter final penalty shoot out and made a good start against FPC. They took the lead but Stevie Marshall equalised when the goalie fumbled his shot. Junior scored the second after being released by Gilly and he got his second and FPC’s third with almost the last kick of the ball to secure the win. FPC were in the final!

Aberdeen were the next opponents and they made a much better start to the final. Nerves seemed to have got the better of FPC and they were soon one down. The rest of the half didn’t get much better although an effort from Mitch which hit the bar was at least one positive sign. A motivational talk from Barclay at half time worked wonders and FPC had most of the second half. A laughably bad effort from Del somehow beat the ‘keeper and levelled the game but FPC couldn’t go on to find the winner. Reaching extra time gave Aberdeen a boost and they had marginally the better of the golden goal period. This eventually paid off with a goal a couple of minutes from time. FPC didn’t cover themselves in glory defending it but having been fortunate in their equaliser, it was a case of things evening themselves out.

It was obviously disappointing for the team to lose the final in the manner they did but it was a great effort to get there. They exceeded their own expectations and should be very proud of how they did.

A special thanks should go to Piggy for all her work throughout the year and all the organisation she put into the Leeds trip. Without her hard (and often unappreciated) work, they team would be much worse off!