Charterhouse wins Elgin Capital Cup
Elgin Capital
Southern Independent Schools League
Play-off final
Charterhouse continued the south division’s domination of the Southern Independent Schools League with a hard-earned victory over a spirited Eton College on Sunday 28th February.
The match had originally been scheduled for January 18th but fell victim to the weather not once but twice. Even this third attempt was under pressure with heavy rain and strong winds forecast over already sodden ground. Wallingford FC carried out a pitch inspection at 10.00 a.m. and it was decided that their pitch was unfit. Fortunately arrangements had been made to transfer the game to the 3G surface at the John Madjeski Academy at Reading and so the match could finally go ahead.
The pitch is an excellent surface within the confines of the academy and is surrounded by a 15ft fence. Unfortunately as soon as the ball went over this fence it was lost into the grounds of the school which are locked on a Sunday. The John Smith no-nonsense approach of the two sides coupled with some wayward shooting meant that balls disappeared into the school grounds within metronomic regularity. Charterhouse lost three balls in the warm-up and the match ball lasted four minutes before a Seb Cox volley dispatched it into oblivion. In the course of the match some fifteen balls must have been used putting this scribe in mind of his last round of golf.
Neither side really got to grips with the artificial surface in a scrappy first half but it was pre-match favourites, Charterhouse, who created the better chances with Harry Lineker and Julian Hornby both guilty of squandering gilt-edged chances laid on by the excellent wide play of Jonny Denham mid-way through the half.
Charterhouse continued to probe throughout but the Etonians were resolute in defence and were dangerous on the break. Nevertheless, it was an aberration in the Charterhouse defence which gave Eton a golden chance to take a lead into the interval when a careless handball gifted them a penalty a minute before the break. It was not to be, however, as Michael Fatsis stood tall in the Charterhouse goal and made an excellent save diving to his left.
The second half saw Eton have the first good chance, a fierce shot from just six yards out being blocked by Charlie Kimmins. Charterhouse began to assert themselves thereafter as first Ed Mole fired over when put clear by Hornby and then, in the 47th minute came the decisive moment of the match: a Charlie Evans corner came back out to him and his return cross was met by James Kinsey whose glancing header found the corner of the net.
Eton pressed for an equaliser and this created more openings for the Charterhouse forwards the best of which saw Hornby again denied by a good near-post save. As the game ran towards its close Eton pressed harder but man of the match Kinsey stood firm at the heart of the Charterhouse defence and the Carthusians held on relatively comfortably to take the trophy for the second time.