AFC Waverton Wasps 4 v 2 Chester Nomads

Chester & District Cup Final (14 May 2011)

Waverton Scorers (season's total in brackets)

Aaron Hassall  -  2 (17)

Sam Jones  -  1 (29)

Alex Wilkinson  -  1 (9)

Report

This was never going to be as easy as last year's victory over Boughton. Nomads are a good team who always cause Waverton problems with their attacking pace, but in the end the Wasps proved the stronger team (both physically and in character) to ensure their second consecutive Chester & District league and cup double.

Despite hosting six earlier games, the Chester playing surface was still in good nick, and with the good wide pitch suiting both teams attacking style of play the opening exchanges promised a great final. There were early half chances at both ends, but as the first half approached its mid point Waverton started to establish a territorial advantage. When the captain Alex Wilkinson was fouled in a central position 25 yards out he got up to take the free kick himself, and placed an accurate strike in off the inside of the right hand post to give the Wasps a 1-0 advantage.

Nomads struck back almost immediately though with Cam Black using his strength and pace to get away from his marker and place his shot past Ollie. The Wasps continued to push forward though and probably just deserved to take a 2-1 lead into the interval, after Sam Jones latched on to a long ball through from Charlie Nicholson, hitting the post with his first effort but reacting first to slot home the rebound.

The early part of the second half saw Nomads have their strongest spell of the game, as they pushed to turn around the scoreline. After both of their pacy strikers had missed half chances, Sean Crowshaw eventually equalised with a trademark quick break followed by a fine finish off the underside of the Waverton bar. The next five minutes were crucial, Nomads were buoyed by their goal and pushed forward strongly in search of a third goal. The Waverton defence stood up well to the onslaught though, with some strong, often last ditch, defending to keep the scoreline level.

Having weathered the storm, Waverton then started to gain the upper hand once again and push for a winner of their own. Their break through eventually came from Aaron Hassall, who'd had another commanding performance in midfield, as he carried the ball into the box, beating a couple of defenders and beating the Nomads' keeper's dive to give Waverton a 3-2 lead with ten minutes to go. Nomads tried hard to rally for an equaliser, but were no longer making the same inroads they had just after the break, and the Wasps looked like holding on. When Aaron added another goal, after more good control in the box, the 4-2 lead was enough to see the league champions comfortably through the last five minutes to make sure they completed the double.

One more game left then in a very successful season, next Sunday, against Upton in the President's Cup. If Waverton can replicate this quality of performance, and show the same strength of character, then they shoud be able to pick up their third trophy of the season.