Trojans complete English league and cup double
 The
English Korfball Association Cup finals day saw some extremely
close and challenging matches.
The day started with the two semi-finals from the English
Korfball Association Cup competition.
In the first semi-final Trojans (London) took on Mitcham
2 (London). If anyone thought that Trojans would have an easy
game of it, they were mistaken, as there was never more than
2 goals seperating the teams. Trojans went ahead with the
first goal, only for Mitcham to equalise, and that set the
tone for the rest of the match really. Trojans went ahead
by 2 goals a couple of times in the first half, but couldn't
break away, and Mitcham always pegged them back. At half time
the score was 6-4 to Trojans, but it was impossible to predict
who would get that Cup final place. Shortly into the Second
half, Mitcham were back on level pegging, at 6-6, and then
they went ahead for the first time in the match, only for
Trojans to bring it back to 7-7. Mitcham went ahead again,
but not for long, as Trojans then scored to level at 8-8 and
then scored two more to give them a slight cushion. Mitcham
brought it back to a one goal lead yet again, but it wasn't
quite enough as Trojans scored the last goal of the game,
to win 11-9.
In the second semi-final Nomads (London) took on the Mitcham
first team. It was Nomads who were quickest off the blocks,
scoring first, but Mitcham responded with 8 goals without
reply. Nomads heads didn't drop though, and they continued
to battle, securing 4 of the next 5 goals, to go into half
time only 5-9 down. At the start of the 2nd half, Nomads continued
in the same vein, securing 2 of the next 3 goals. The strength
of the Mitcham team began to tell though, as they found their
shooting boots and notched up 4 goals in a row (7-15). Again
Nomads rallied and scoring 3 goals to Mitcham's 2, to bring
the final score to 10-17. A confident performance by the Mitcham
side to take them into the Final, but also a strong performance
by the Nomads side, which will surely give them a boost prior
to their EKA National League Premier Division relegation playoff
match against Kingfisher in May.
Seperating the Cup Semi-Finals from the 3rd/4th playoff and
final, was the EKA National League First Division playoff
match between last placed team Supernova (London) and National
League hopefulls Highbury (London). The winner of this match
would get the all important invite to participate in the new
EKA South East Regional League next season, which replaces
this season's National League First Division.
Many were anticipating a close and exciting match, given
the recent success of Highbury in overcoming Tornadoes (Kent)
the previous week, coupled with their performance in the London
Area Premier Division, which they won without dropping a point.
The start of the match was dominated by both teams' defence,
as they pushed out on the attackers, preventing good shots
from being taken and disrupting play with interceptions, and
rebounds. 20 minutes into the match, there was still no score
on the board, from either side; a surprise given the shooting
capabilities of both teams. Supernova eventually broke the
deadlock, scoring the first goal of the game, which seemed
to give them confidence, and to take confidence away from
Highbury. Supernova went on to score 2 more, to give them
a 3 goal lead going into half time. The second half certainly
saw more goals being scored, and saw Highbury gain a little
of their momemtum, but it was just too little too late, and
they couldn't seem to find the flow and movement that had
seen them through the season. Supernova continued to push
in defence, and to use their experience to find gaps and score
goals. They scored 5 in the second half, to Highbury's 3,
giving a full time scoe of 8-3, which means Supernova retain
their place in the Division.
The EKA Cup 3rd/4th play off saw Nomads compete against the
Mitcham 2nd team. The match started cautiously, with neither
team scoring freely. Although Mitcham scored the first 2 goals,
Nomads fought back, and at half time it was 5-3 to them. The
second half was a slightly different affair, with more goals
being scored by both teams. Whatever was said to the Mitcham
team at half time it certainly worked, as they came out and
scored 6 goals in a row, all from open play. Nomads would
not give up though, and they brought the score back to within
2, before Mitcham pulled away again. The superior scoring
ability of Mitcham made the difference in the end, and after
60 minutes, it was 15-11 to them.
And so to the final. Trojans had won the EKA National League
title, from Mitcham, in the last game of the season, so this
match was always going to be a tense and hard fought affair.
Trojans were looking to do the "double" and Mitcham
were looking for revenge for the League defeat. The match
didn't let the spectators down, going first one way, then
the other, first Trojans in front, then Mitcham clawing the
goals back, only for the lead to swap again. Trojans scored
first, Mitcham equalised, Trojans went ahead again, but Mitcham
brought it back, Trojans went ahead by 2, Mitcham first equalised,
then went ahead by one. Half time was 7-6 to Mitcham, but
neither team was giving anything away, pushing out in defence,
working the block to get the rebound, fighting for every inch
of space, and every opportunity to put the ball in the basket.
Mitcham's half time talk must have worked well again, as they
quickly scored 2 after the restart to put them 3 ahead, the
biggest margin of the match so far. Trojans were not here
to play second fiddle though, they were here to win that trophy,
and they scored 4 without reply, to snatch the lead. Mitcham
weren't to be outdone though, they equalised at 10-10 and
it was neck and neck. This was crunch time. Trojans scored
the next goal, and didn't look back, from then they didn't
lose the lead again, and despite the best efforts of Mitcham,
Trojans ran out 16-13 winners to claim both the EKA Cup and
the EKA National League Titles, for the first time in their
club's history. Congratulations to them.
And thanks to the referees and linesmen, without whom todays
matches wouldn't have been possible.
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