AFC Waverton 2 v 1 Stockport Junior Blues

Cheshire County Cup, Semi Final (14 February, 2010)

Waverton Scorers (season's total in brackets)

Matt Sheen   2 (31)

MoM Awards

Coach's  - Alex Wilkinson/Matt Sheen

Supporters'  -  Matt Sheen

Report

If there can be such a thing as a comfortable 2-1 victory then this was it. As a result, the Wasps have now progressed through to the final in the Cheshire County Cup, the biggest trophy they can compete for at this age, a competition in which 97 sides were initially entered.

Things looked before the game like they might be difficult, with six of the Stockport side bigger than Matt Sheen (and therefore considerably bigger than most of our players!). After the whistle though it soon looked different and Waverton dominated the early proceedings, playing good passing football and competing very well against the bigger team. Having missed  a couple of earlier half chances it was no more than the Wasps deserved when they took the lead after 15 minutes, with Matt Sheen running on to a through ball from Alex Wilkinson and finishing the move with one of his trademark, clinical left foot finishes.

Waverton could have added to the lead soon after, but having weathered the storm the Stockport team did come back into the game and had their best spell for the final ten minutes of the first half. Waverton found it particularly difficult defending corners against their taller opponents, but defended doggedly. Having first hit the bar though, Stockport did equalise with five minutes to go before the break after a strong run and good finish from their main striker.

With the Wasps great record in second halves though it was not a disaster to go into half time level, and after the team talk they again came out strong in the second half and reasserted their earlier dominance. The introduction of Luke White down the left had given Stockport something new to worry about, and after ten minutes he fed another ball to Matt Sheen, who appeared to hit the ball too early, but the quality of the shot was good enough to beat the Stockport keeper and put the Wasps back in front 2-1.

That still left twenty minutes or more to go, but the Wasps continued to run the game and the Stockport heads started to drop. There were excellent performances all over the pitch, with the strikers unlucky not to add to the lead, the midfield fighting for every loose ball, and Ollie and the defence giving a superb second half performance, with a Stockport attack, that had initially looked dangerous, not landing a single shot on target in the second period.

So, deservedly, the Wasps take their place in the County Cup Final, where their opponents will be a very strong Vauxhall team but, given their performances to date, Waverton need to fear nobody. The game is scheduled for 21 March (venue to be confirmed).