The Walter Tull Trophy 2016 – Clapton, Hackney Wick & AC London

So the second Saturday of Pre Season took me to the Old Spotted Dog ground in Forest Gate, East London. Hosts Clapton were putting on a tournament and had invited Hackney Wick and AC London along for the ride.

The tournament was named the Walter Tull Trophy and would be made up of three sixty minute games (thirty minutes each way) in a round robin format, with the team on the most points after two games the winners of the tournament of course.

Clapton of course ply their trade in the Essex Senior League and are looking to build a decent squad to challenge towards the upper reaches of the division this season. Hackney Wick are only in their second season as a club after forming last summer, and they play their football in the Middlesex County Division One Central and East, some two levels below the hosts, whilst AC London have joined the Combined Counties League for the coming season.

Each side brought along squads capable of lasting two games in a day and so the tournament began at 12:30pm with the two visiting sides taking on each other first. Here are reports on the three games that took place:-

Game One
Hackney Wick 0 AC London 2

AC London grabbed the first win in the Walter Tull Trophy for 2016 after defeating Hackney Wick. The South London side began well and had the majority of the chances in the opening exchanges with Wick limited to occasional attacks when possible. The opening goal came five minutes before the end of the first half when a ball lobbed back over a static defence beat the offside trap and allowed AC in to lob over a stranded Wick keeper and into the net. Prior to this Wick felt they should of been awarded a penalty for a shove but this wasnt given but it was a rare moment for them in the last third. However the second period saw AC become sloppy in their general play and allowed Wick back into the contest and saw them go close on a couple of occasions. They couldn’t capitalise though and AC were then awarded a penalty with fifteen minutes left but saw this saved but they came on strong towards the end and with the last act of the match headed home from close range to seal the points and end Wicks resistance.

Game Two
Clapton 1 AC London 0

Tournament hosts Clapton recorded a win over AC London in the days second game. The first half yielded some half chances for both sides although neither keeper was fully tested as the first half ended goalless in what was a fairly even contest. However the second half was only seconds old when the telling moment of the contest came as the AC keeper went to control the ball only for it to bobble up and see the keeper mis control it allowing the hosts to steal the ball right in front of goal and tap home. AC tried to respond but the hosts slowly took control and had chances to seal the win late on but they held onto the win in any case and gave themselves a great chance to win their own tournament with a win in the final game. The game did end in worrying fashion when one of the AC players was accidentally caught and was treated on the pitch for several minutes before being walked off very gingerly indeed. We wish the player all the best and hope it’s wasn’t to serious.

Game Three
Clapton 1 Hackney Wick 1

Intermediate side Hackney Wick scored late on to grab a draw against tournament hosts Clapton although the Tons still picked up the point necessary to take the Trophy. The hosts, who are two levels above their opponents, squandered two free headers early on as they looked for an early advantage in this game. Wick, although underdogs, were never overawed by their opponents and gave as good as they got in this well contested match. The Tons though did create the bulk of the chances and saw a cross hit the bar before an overhead kick also struck the bar. Wick themselves had a penalty shout for handball before they also hit the bar but with three minutes to the half time whistle they headed a free kick home from close rangeand saw them go in at the break ahead. They so nearly doubled their lead at the start of the second period but saw the Wick keeper save well but thereafter the lower league opponents dominated pretty much the reminder of the half, going close on a couple of occasions and then with a minute left finally grabbing a deserved leveller when a ball in from the left saw the keeper parry onto the foot of his defender and bounce back past him and into the net. It was the least Wick deserved after a brilliant second half display. Clapton almost pinched it right at the death but it ended a draw which saw the hosts take Trophy success, finishing a point clear of AC London.

So hosts Clapton secure the Walter Tull Trophy although they were made to work very hard for it in what was a very well contested tournament and certainly entertained those who had come to see it. A very enjoyable day indeed.