Norfolk Cup semi-final

Coltishall Jaguars 2, Hethersett Athletic 4

A good sized crowd were on hand to watch a great game of football between two sides wanting to get to their first county cup final.

Colt Jags kicked off and immediately put pressure on Hethersett. Hethersett struggled to get the ball out of their half in the first 10 to 15 minutes as Colt Jags were shutting down every ball and making some good runs towards the Hethersett goal.

Unfortunately Colt Jags pressure went unrewarded and instead Hethersett scored first. A high ball into the box was spilled by the Jags keeper and wasn’t cleared before the Hethersett striker was able to knock the ball into the back of the net.

It was quite against the run of play, so Jags immediately picked up where they had left off and again piled the pressure onto Hethersett. The Jags were still unable to find the back of the net though as the Hethersett keeper was quick to cover any shots.

Shortly before the end of the half, Hethersett had a break down the left side of the pitch. The resulting cross was sliced quite high into the air and looked to be going out for a goal kick. However the spin of the ball was enough for it to drop just under the Jags crossbar and into the goal for Hethersett’s second. This was disappointing for the Jags as they had probably had more of the possession and had certainly had more shots on goal during the half.

At the beginning of the second half Hethersett came out a little stronger and applied the early pressure. However, the Jags were able to deal with this and were then rewarded with a goal of their own. Leanne “Woody”

Woodward picked the ball up on the wing and drove into the box with it, it rebounded off of a defender or two but Woody was still able to get the shot away as the keeper came out. The keeper appeared to get fingers to the ball but it wasn’t enough to stop it rolling over the line and into the goal.

The largely Coltishall-biased crowd roared and this seemed to lift the Jags, who started to apply pressure again to the Hethersett goal. The Jags went close to scoring again through Woody but the shot just went wide. The Jags also managed to win several corners, but were unable to convert any into goals, despite going close a couple of times.

As the half progressed it was still tight between the two teams, then a long ball over the Jags defence was chased down by a Hethersett striker. The Jags keeper was off her line and first to the ball, but in trying to kick the ball clear hit it against the oncoming striker and the ball rebounded into the goal. It was a crushing blow to the Jags who had felt they were on the up and were close to a second goal.

Despite the goal the Jags continued to give their all, but Hethersett were also playing better than they had in the first half. Eventually Hethersett found their fourth and final goal of the match after a good turn by their striker who put the ball into the bottom corner of the goal.

However, the Jags weren’t done. In the dying minutes of the match they were awarded a free kick well into Hethersett’s half. Laura Hedtke took the kick and played a lofted ball across the Hethersett box, for Woody to head brilliantly into the Hethersett goal.

Shortly after this the final whistle was blown. It was a great game of football played in good spirit and all those who came to watch seemed to enjoy the occasion.

Team: L Gosling, T Leah, S Nice, F Bennett, R Dack, N Myhill, A Ohde, L Hedtke (captain), L Woodward, N Snelling, J Telfer, C Gunning, N Robson, C Tallent. Manager: Julie Neate.