Sunday the 9th of March and the semi final the whole world had been waiting for was finally here. The draw could have been kinder for Welton with the semi final draw pairing Premier league leaders Golden Eagle with mid table division 2 side Manor. This meant that Welton were to take on Ruston Sports who are never an easy side to play against fortunately for Welton the game was to take place at what is fast becoming a fortress for Welton, Social park.
Team news
Big Als 14 was made slightly easier to select for this game due to the fact that for semi finals of cup competitions players are required to have played at least 3 league fixtures for their team. This rule would see Welton barely able to scrape an eligible 14 with Twiggy still unavailable through suspension Craig Wilkinson cup tied and probably still suspended! Rash, Ottewell, Brewer and Moley, all fell victim to the 3 game rule.
Welton's starting X1 saw Mayhem between the sticks with the usual back three of Carter, S Clifford and Taylor across the middle. Welton went with Clifford L on the left, Bowey on the right and the familiar central trio of Stocks Coupland and Gordon with Wardy back from injury and Ronnie starting up front. On the bench were Daley, Dhindsa and impact substitute Tom Wilkinson looking to get his 3rd goal in as many games from the bench. Welton almost at full strength kitted out in blue and white were sent out into battle with two words banned for the day - Pain and tiredness. Welton trotted out for a relaxed warm up firing balls at Clifford L (who still hadn’t undone his boot laces before putting them on) and Mayhem the mood was nice and relaxed. This however can not be said of there opponents who were clearly taking there warm up very seriously lead by former Lincoln college soccer academy “ace” Nathan Roberts. This game had all the ingredients to be an absolute classic including professional linesman much to the dismay of John Stanham.
The first half was a very cagey affair with both defences very much on top. The two sides had very contrasting styles with Welton trying to get the ball down and play through the solid Rustons rearguard and Rustons content to go long hoping to work off flicks from the big Bear Shandy up front. Unfortunatley for them there was no getting round, through or over Carter and Taylor and the few times they did succeed they were met by strong challenges and expert positioning from S Clifford to sweep up any threat to Mayhems goal. Chances were at a premium in the first half with Welton only able to produce a couple of efforts from 25 yards from Gordon that tested the Rustons keeper. Welton were getting in with ease down the left flank through Luke Clifford who was terrorising the opposition full back but unfortunately from Weltons point of view the front men were rarely able to get on the end of Cliffords deliveries.
The first real chance of the first half fell to Rustons when a free kick whipped in from the right wasn’t dealt with and Rustons College superstar Roberts poked wide unchallenged from 6 yards a real let off for Welton. The first goal of the game was clearly going to be crucial and to the delight of the home fans packed down the hedge side it went to Welton. Luke Clifford picked the ball up on the halfway line and set off on another rampage forward leaving men trailing in his wake he battled his way into the box only to be hacked down before he could get his shot away penalty to Welton! Up stepped Coupland to drill home high down the middle of the goal.
Half time Welton 1 Rustons 0
Welton returned for the second half unchanged and they started brightly and should have gone further in front almost instantly after brilliant work from Bowey down the right hand side the tricky winger jinked his way into the box and somehow managed to get the ball to the feet of the usually deadly Drabble who could only poke over from 10 yards out under heavy pressure from two defenders. This seemed to spur the visitors into life as Welton began to drop deeper and deeper with Rustons firmly on top Welton found it hard to maintain possession and as a result were under real pressure to keep the visitors out.Weltons first half outlet Luke Clifford was not having such an impact on the game either as Rustons switched one of their centre forwards to Right back and the right winger doubled up to neutralise Weltons danger man.
Big Al made his first and only change of the game withdrawing Bowey who was starting to look tired after being forced to defend for most of the game by the impressive Rustons number 15 Furness. Bowey replaced by Wilkinson this would eventually prove to be a massive moment in the game. Wilkinson slotted into the centre of the park while Gordon moved out to right hand side. Even with Wilkinson in the centre of the park Welton struggled to maintain possession but the rearguard of Carter Taylor and S Clifford remained strong dealing with everything that was thrown at them. Midway through the second half Rustons won a corner which Welton could only half clear to the edge of the area. The ball fell to the Rustons centre back who smashed an effort goalwards only to be met by a brilliant save from Mayhem who had been largely untroubled for the majority of the game.
Luke Clifford was becoming more and more frustrated and he took his fury out on his unfortunate Grandad who was in the wrong place at the wrong time as Clifford L bulldozed into him injuring Grandads knee. It was also touching to see the concern on Lukes older Brother Simons face who demanded Luke remove himself from under his Grandad and get back on the pitch. Welton were still a threat on the counter and really should have extended their advantage through Ward. Good work down the right hand side between Gordon and Coupland lead to Coupland floating across a perfectly measured cross on to the head of Ward who could only head straight at the keeper.
With ten minutes left on the clock Welton were starting to think that they had weathered the storm and Pacey and Jacko were starting to dream of the half time hotdogs at Sincil bank however the next ten minutes that followed will live long in the memory of all those there that memorable morning. Welton appeared to be cruising through but possession was squandered in Midfield and Rustons broke swiftly with the Rustons centre forward Ellis running onto a through ball to chip over the advancing Mayhem to level the tie. Minutes later things nearly went from bad to worse for Welton as Ellis turned on the edge of the area and floated an effort over mayhem onto the perfectly erected goal frame. The rebound fell to the other Rustons forward who blazed over under pressure from Carter.
Welton also went close through Luke Clifford in the dying moments a real scramble from a Welton corner lead to the ball falling at the feet of Clifford who smashed an effort goalwards and nearly decapitated the Rustons centre back who bravely through himelf in the way. Deep into injury time and with extra time looming Welton again broke this time down the right hand side, a nutmeg from Gordon on Furness lead to Gordon being obstructed. Welton pushed everyone forward for the free kick as Rustons would not have time to launch a counter. It was do or die time for Welton and my word they did.
Gordon whipped the ball across perfectly onto the head of Wilkinson who planted his header into the roof of the net over the despairing keeper sparking unbelievable scenes at the beck end. As Wilkinson wheeled away in triumph He was mobbed by his team mates and management. The thunderous raw that greeted the goal was heard all over the village and could have potentially caused more structural damage than the great earthquake. There was no time for Rustons to launch another attack and as soon as the game restarted the final whistle was blown. Joyous scenes all around social park as Welton had booked their place in the showpiece final at Sincil Bank against Golden Eagle. A huge crowd is expected at sincil bank for what promises to be a titanic tussle between the big two.
Full time Welton S&SC 2 Ruston Sports 1
Match ratings
Mayhem (8) largely untroubled. Handling was superb
Carter (8.5) best game in a Welton shirt (apparently)
S Clifford (8.5) calm on the ball swept up any thing loose
Taylor (9) won absolutely everything in the air
Stocks (8) strong performance from the skipper strong in the air and the tackle
Clifford L (8) terrorised defence in the first half
Coupland (7.5) midfield was largely bypassed in the second half dispatched penalty well
Gordon (7.5) What a cross. Defended well
Stocks (8) strong performance from the skipper strong in the air and the tackle
Bowey (7) struggled to make an impact going forward defended responsibly
Drabble (7) suffered from lack of service. Worked hard for the team
Ward (7) held up play well
Subs
Wilkinson (7.5) Match winning header capped off a good display