CUMNOR REACH THE SEMI-FINALS AFTER THRILLING GAME

Quarry were our opponents in the quarter final of the League Cup. The sun greeted both sides on a fantastic Sunday morning. Expectations were high for both sides. Quarry had recently destroyed Kennington while Cumnor had struggled to find the net since Xmas. This was going to be an interesting game.
The game started with both sides looking dangerous. Quarry with the help of a couple of fast attackers were stretching the Cumnor defence. Henry had to be alert to cut of a couple of early through balls. Robbie made a couple of last minute tackles to prevent dangerous situations. Cumnor started to construct a few attacks. Shaun was playing well and was starting to pass the ball back and forwards. Freddie raced up the left and crossed the ball but no-one was there to finish the move off. Biggy was using his strength to create opportunities on the right hand side. He nearly scored on a couple of occasions. At the other end, Tim had to race of his line to block a certain goal. He also made a couple of important saves. Harry was linking well with Luke and were creating gaps in the Quarry defence.
A breakthrough came. Fraser made a crunching tackle and won the ball. He found Biggy. Biggy found Shaun with a defence splitting pass. Shaun raced onto the ball and with great control slipped the ball past the goalie into the back of the net.
Qurry attacked but Alex was proving he is as fast as the Quarry attackers. Alex and Shaun were interlinking well. Ryan was playing well and creating chances down the left hand side.
The first half finished 1-0.
The second half saw Cumnor take the initiative. Mark was brought on to fill his normal position and he made a couple of great clearances. Luke made a couple of great runs but just could not finish it off. On one occasion he forced a corner. Harri took the corner and floated the ball into the middle of the box. Freddie jumped on the ball and fired it into the net. It was 2-0. Minutes later Fraser hit a through ball and Freddie raced on to make it 3-0. Then Biggy was at the other end of a Luke pass to fire the ball into the back of the net. It was 4-0.
Quarry were awarded a penalty but the ball was knocked wide. With 10 minutes to go, it was 4-0. Within the next 9 minutes Quarry had scored 3 goals. One penalty and 2 well worked goals. With a minute to go, it was 4-3. Ollie and Sam were brought on to add fresh legs to the team. The Cumnor parents were hoping for the final whistle and the Quarry parents were hoping that their would be plenty of extra time. Fortunately, the whistle was blown and the game was over. A very exciting finish.

CUMNOR MINORS 4 QUARRY 3

MAN OF THE MATCH: HENRY GORDON

What a game. Cumnor were strolling and, then suddenly, it could have gone to extra time. Well done both sides for a thrilling game. I don't think that we would want too many games like this.

ARDINGTON TOPPLE CUMNOR

After some quick negotiations, Ardington's home game was moved to the Closes due to their waterlogged park.
A must win game for Cumnor got off to the worst possible start. Ardington were given a free kick just outside the Cumnor penalty area. The Ardington player took the free kick and fired it into the corner of the net. Tim had no chance. It must be one of the quickest goals in Oxford Mail history.
Cumnor moved into top gear and went searching for the equaliser. Fraser gathered the ball in midfield. He gave the ball to Freddie who slipped the ball to Biggy. Biggy raced away from the defence. As the goalie came out, Biggy slipped the ball past the goalie. It rolled towards the net but just slipped by the post. At this stage, memories of last week were coming back to the Cumnor support. Not to be discouraged, Cumnor moved forward. Luke made a great tackle and slipped the ball to Ryan. Ryan's cross was deflected for a corner. Harri took the corner and Fraser nearly slipped the ball into the net. Shaun, who was doing lots of great running, made a run forward and tried a shot but the ball was blocked. Robbie was getting stuck in with some great tackling.
Mark was covering the back well with some great tackles. Henry was stopping the Ardington attack with great positional play.
Ardington attacked and were given another free kick just outside the box. The free kick was taken and Tim saved well. He pushed the ball out but an Ardington player was first to the ball and slipped it into the net. Minutes later Ardington made it three with another shot which Tim nearly saved.
The boys showed great resilience by still pushing forward. At last a breaktrough came. Freddie won the ball. Fraser raced forward and with great control slipped the ball into the net.
Cumnor won another corner. Harri fired it into the box. Freddie, Shaun, Luke and Fraser all had shots but the ball stayed out.
The first half finished 3-1.
The second half saw more of the same. Attacking by both sides but Ardington added to their lead with a fine goal. Robbie made a couple of saves and Ollie added some new legs to the midfield. Sam came on and impressed with some fine passing. Luke playing at centre half had a great game and fitted in well with Henry. Ben made his first appearance for a while and gave Cumnor another option in midfield.
Final score was 4-1 to Ardington.

Cumnor Minors 1 Ardington 4
Man of the Match: Freddie Pinkerton
Bookings: Daniel Bigden

Another good display by Cumnor. As Dave says, against the top teams we must take our chances and not give away easy goals. In both occasions against Didcot and Ardington, we were not beaten by the better side but by unlucky finishing and soft goals.

DIDCOT DENT CUMNOR'S TITLE HOPES

After a long break it was back to action for Cumnor The last game was over a month ago. Didcot was probably the last team we wanted after a long break.
The game started and Cumnor were hit by a sucker punch. A break on the right saw Alex, from Didcot, race to the bye line and his shot was parried by Tim. It broke to a Didcot player who slipped the ball into the net.
Cumnor moved into top gear and Biggy came very close on two occasions. Fraser also had a shot cleared. Luke and Shaun were fighting a great battle in midfield and were creating opportunities for Freddie and Biggy. Harri fired in two great corners but we could not score. At the back, Mark was closing down Didcot's tricky winger Alex. Our own Alex was having an exceptional game at the back. Very little was getting past him. Robbie and Henry were clearing any danger through the middle.
The first half finished 1-0 to Didcot.
At the start of the second half, Fraser found Shaun who slipped the ball to Biggy. Biggy raced forward and slipped the ball to Freddie. Freddie with an open goal slipped and the ball went past the post. It was not going to be our day. Didcot then raced up the other end and made it 2-0.
Almost immediately, Harri found Biggy. Biggy raced forward and after beating a couple of players fired an unstoppable shot into the net. It was 2-1.
Luke made a great run but his shot was saved by the goalie. After another Harri corner, the ball landed in the six yard box. Shaun shot, Fraser shot and Freddie shot but we could not score.
As Cumnor pushed forward, players were getting tired and gaps appeared. Dave brought on Ryan and Ollie to add some fresh legs to the team. Didcot scored 4 goals in succession to make it 6-1 to Didcot.
Final Score:
Cumnor Minors 1 Didcot 6

MAN OF THE MATCH: Daniel Bigden.

A great performance from Cumnor. Anybody watching the game for the first 50 minutes would have thought Cumnor were the better side. On another day, even if we had converted half the chances we created, we would have won comfortably. Unfortunately, Didcot were very clinical and do possess a couple of outsatanding players. A great game.