Craske & Wells Memorial Trophy Final
Jockey Farm, Rusthall
Admission including Programme: £5.00
Attendance: 80 (estimate)
With local midweek fixtures becoming ever thinner on the ground, I delved down into the Sevenoaks & District League for possible games to watch this evening. Although there were a couple of league games with plenty riding on them to choose from, I was swayed by this cup final, with the opportunity to visit a ground I had not visited since 2013, and one which I had been wanting to revisit for some time, having been substantially upgraded in recent years.
The last time I visited Jockey Farm it was an unenclosed venue, however now, plenty of signage guides visitors from the passing road to the turnstile block, to enter the now fully enclosed ground along one length. The clubhouse building remains pretty much how it was, with overhang to the pitchside railing providing a spacious covered standing area, although the interior has been modernised. There are now two stands straddling the half way line closest to the entrance, with a modern metallic all-seater stand next to quite a long stand covered by corrugated sheets and wooden bench seating along the rear. The area behind the goal furthest from the clubhouse has been raised, and so now offers a decent elevated view of the action from behind the goal and stretching round to the half way along the far side, as far as some individual brick built dug outs which have been erected since my last visit. Between the two dugouts, a large "Rusthall" sign is placed on the back of a stand which provides cover for the adjacent full size football pitch. There is hard standing around the rest of the pitch, and the setting is pleasantly green and rural, with some horse stables behind one of the goals. A 24 page programme was included with admission, printed in colour, and provided an introduction to the game, penpics of both squads, some quizzes and results for how both sides reached the final. Indeed, according to the programme at least, Malgo lost in the quarter-final in this competition, did not contest the semi-final, but were reinstated for the final.
The evening's cup final was between clubs from different leagues. Dartford Celtic were in sixth place in the Kent County League Division Three Central & East when this season was curtailed, following four wins and a draw form their seven games. They have been taking part in the Metrogas Invitational Tournament, and have won two and drawn two of their six games so far. Malgo have had a very successful season in the Sevenoaks & District League Division One, which is being played to a finish, and they sealed the title on Saturday after winning the penultimate game of their league season, with a record of 13 wins and three draws from their 17 games with one game to play.
With heavy drizzle arriving just before kick-off and only giving way to drier conditions during the second half, the first half was, unsurprisingly, quite a cagey affair, and although even for the most part, it was Malgo who had the standout chances to open the scoring, most notably on 22 minutes when the Dartford keeper came rushing out of his area only to swing and miss at the ball, but he was relieved to watch the Malgo player shoot wide of a virtually open goal from outside of the area.
The deadlock was broken two minutes after the break by Malgo after a defender couldn't quite cut out a ball forward, and Malgo striker strode forward before striking the ball past the keeper. It was a lead they just about deserved, and they were looking fairly comfortable in their lead until they were reduced to ten men on 68 minutes following a second yellow card. Dartford came closest to an equaliser on 81 minutes when a cross from the right was struck against his own crossbar by a defender, but in the first minute of added on time, it looked like Malgo had secured the trophy with their second goal, a ball forward sent the Malgo player all alone as he ran from the half way line towards goal, before coolly slotting the ball past the keeper. However, Dartford had time to pull a goal back in the fourth minute of added on time, when a powerful shot came back off the underside of the bar, and the loose ball was guided home low past the keeper and a defender and inside the post. However, with barely a minute of added on time remaining, there was not enough time to seriously threaten getting back on level terms, and so it was Malgo who would lift the trophy shortly after the final whistle.
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