Legends Cup (Week Two)

The second of the Legends Cups ended in midweek, the Peter Schmeichel named competition. Points in this competition are earned for performance and performance only. Nothing given away here for being top goal scorer or for keeping the most clean sheets.

The DFA have slipped behind in the Fed table over the past week, as the CFA overtook them and gained a 61 point lead. They really needed a good showing here, but with just 12 entrants compared to the CFA's 26, they started off with the odds stacked against them.

Despite the CFA dominance, not one of the 26 entrants made it through to the Semi Finals, Huddersfield Town being the only side to even make the Quarters. Surprisingly, it was the OFA who had the most participants come the Semi's, with Dynamo Dave FC and Boot  and Shoe Villa both making it into the points. Boot  and Shoe Villa came up against the GFA's Warburton Wanderers, whilst Dynamo Dave FC faced the favourites at this stage, FC 360.

Two largely different Semi Final match ups. The first between Dynamo Dave FC and FC 360 was a close one. Despite FC 360 going 3 up inside half an hour, Dynamo Dave FC came out of the half time break a different team. Coming out strong they clawed a goal back straight away, then set about a second, putting their opponents on the back foot. That second goal did come, but not until the 89th minute. It lead to a few frantic minutes at the end, and with 3 minutes added on, manager David Kempshall pushed his team forward hoping for an equalising goal to take it into extra time. It never came though, and FC 360 progressed on to the Final.

The other Semi was not so close. After scoring in the 2nd minute Boot  and Shoe Villa never looked back, adding a second in the 21st minute. Warburton Wanderers did grab one back shortly after, but with winger Mauro Camoranesi getting sent off early on, they were always up against it. Sérgio Fernandes made it 3-1 just before half time and Rogério completed the win later on in the second half.

The Final then was a DFA V OFA affair, pitting FC 360  up against Boot  and Shoe Villa. The tie couldn't have been any closer. Alexandre Christophe put 360 ahead on the half hour mark, only for Patrick Sneijder to equalise a minute later. Then, after an hours of play, the bizarre happened. FC 360 won a penalty, which Luca Fratello missed, only for Boot  and Shoe Villa to be awarded a penalty themselves 2 minutes later. Pereira also missed, but on the follow up Marco Tattini was brought down by Andrea Troise, winning another penalty. This time Pereira didn't miss, putting the side from the OFA 2-1 up. The lead lasted until the 77th minute, when Marco D'Alessandro slotted past Alex Smithies to level up the score. Nothing could separate the sides, with the tie going all the way to a penalty shoot out. 9 out of the 12 penalties taken were missed, FC 360 winning the shoot out 2-1 to take the crown and the much needed points for the DFA.

That bizarre incident...