Forever Finley FC 3 : JP8 FC 10
JP8 FC made it 4 wins out of 4 against the Forever Findlay Charity FC,. the game was our birthday present to Jacko, who would've been 28 on 01/12/22.
Forever Finley are a fantastic charity that provide a unique service to bereaved parents:
Forever Finley provide bereaved parents with 3D hand and foot casts of their children. We cast babies from 23 weeks gestation up to 5 years old within Hospitals and Funeral Homes. We provide parents with a physical memory of their children, forever allowing them to hold on to their childs hand. In memory of Finley William Smith 19.01.2018!
Starting XI – Tom, Brandon, Scott W, Scott M, Shane, Lee, Budny, Andre, Ozzy, Reece and Owen. Subs – Courtney, Sam, Dan, David.
Match Report
The boys arrived at Tonbridge Angels Stadium to frost, frost and more frost as the weather took a dramatic change.
However, in true footballing spirit the boys warmed up and were ready to play, except Lee Harris who seemed to be dressed to do a shift for Santa Claus with his green under armour.
Even with the boys battling against the cold, they seem to start the game on the front foot, asserting their dominance and testing the opposition early.
As the game progressed, it was a matter of when instead of if for JP8 to get their first goal and within five minutes, JP8 went 1-0 up with some good play down the right,
Shane was able to get Lee running against their defender one on one and was able to play a delivery Santa himself would have been proud of to Reece, who was able to comfortably slot it home. 1-0 to JP8.
Within quick succession, JP8 found themselves 3-0 up as The Captain, Owen was able to provide an assist to both Reece and Lee. Owen was able to show his wisdom in the box and calmly found them both to put JP8 in a comfortable lead before half time.
However, Forever Finley were not giving up. They continued to attack and apply pressure. However, it was met by our very own BFG (Big Friendly Ginger) Scott Moore who seemed to be having the game of his life.
He was determined to not let anyone through, although for someone who is 6 foot 6, we think the only way you were getting through him was through his legs.
Just as we were approaching half time, Finley were able to run into the box and were able to do recreate their favourite performance of Dancing on Ice. Their forward was able to navigate through a wall of white shirts and draw a foul for a penalty.
Out of all people their keeper ran the length of the pitch and slotted it home. 3-1 to JP8.
Finley were still trying to push with minutes remaining when they won a free kick on the edge of the penalty box.
Our Gaffer, Connor Budny was still arguing with the ref now on how he has never done a cleaner challenge in his life (for once he was telling the truth).
Somehow, the freekick taker was able to find the top corner of the goal. Quite possibly the best goal of the night.
JP8 went into half time 3-2 up.
Second Half
In order to keep everyone from freezing on the sidelines, the Gaffer decided to make some changes, which seemed to pay dividends straight away.
JP8 showed why they went 3-0 up by going back to the basics and applying pressure to their back line.
One of the subs, Sam Higgins was able to roll back the years and show everyone that he still has a thing or two to teach people by playing a wonderful cross to Andre who was able to place the ball into the bottom corner with a lovely header, 4-2.
Reece was able to add to his tally as he calmly slotted home again. Whilst he seemed to be ecstatic with his goal, his knee slide celebration seemed to make him remember how cold it was! 5-2.
Now for the most confusing thing of the night, Mr Late (Courtney) was put left wing by the Gaffer, which was obviously received with some questionable feedback.
However, with two bursting runs into the box he was able to smash the ball into the back of the net to grab a brace.
Both of his goals were assisted by Owen and Harris. For everyone that doesn’t know Courtney, he always turns up late, not having a clue what is going on and controls a ball with what Andre would describe as ‘Nintendo 64s’.
So, for him to score a brace seems more luck than skill, 7-2 JP8.
Just as the cold seemed to make everyone's bodies shut down, JP8 seemed to switch off for a few seconds and let an attack build up to a penalty where the Finley goalkeeper was able to double his tally and make the game 7-3.
As JP8 continued to show a real professional performance, somehow, and we are still trying to figure out how this happened, Courtney was able to complete his hattrick.
Maybe miracles do happen at Christmas. 8-3 to JP8.
As the boys were thinking about driving home for Christmas, they were able to finish the night in style by adding another two goals to the scoreline.
Dan and Reece were able to round off another comfortable night for JP8.
We would like to thank Forever Finley for a great match played in true Christmas spirit, everyone that made it on the night and everyone that supports us from afar.
A Great End To The Year
We have been able to finish the year unbeaten, scoring 35 goals in the process, extended our family with football and most importantly raised hundreds of pounds for charity.
We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we hope to see you in the new year where we will look to continue our success in the United Charity Tournament.
