Conifa World Cup 2018 Preview

(photo by @olga_ingurazova)

Tomorrow sees the CONIFA World Cup 2018 in London begin, with 48 matches played out over ten days.  The tournament will involve 16 teams from across the globe, competing to add their name to the CONIFA World Football Cup honour roll alongside past victors County of Nice (2014) and Abkhazia (2016). Unlike many other major international tournament, CONIFA events include placement games for teams that do not qualify for the quarter-finals. This is done to ensure CONIFA is fulfiling its core mission: giving everyone an opportunity to play football.  Also known as the 'Stateless World Cup' it brings together some of the lesser known smaller regions and nations around the world. 

Below are the four groups that will play out the group stages of the competition:-
Group A
Barawa
Ellan Vannin
Tamil Eelam
Cascadia

Group B
Abkhazia
Northern Cyprus
Karpatalya
Tibet

Group C
Padania
Szekely Land
Tuvalu
Matabeleland

Group D
Panjab
United Koreans in Japan
Western Armenia
Kabylia

These teams will play across ten non league grounds in and around the London area, and it all begins tomorrow at midday with various group games taking place at Midday in different locations, before the afternoon games are followed by the opening ceremony at 7pm at Bromley's Hayes Lane. 

Here are the full fixtures for the Group Stages:-
Thursday 31st May
Midday
Group A - Ellan Vannin vs Cascadia (Gander Green Lane, Sutton United FC)
Group B - Abkhazia vs Tibet (Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield Town FC)
Group C - Szekely Land vs Tuvalu (Coles Park Stadium, Haringey Borough FC)
Group D - United Koreans In Japen vs Western Armenia (Colston Avenue Football Stadium, Carshalton Athletic FC)

3pm
Group B - Northern Cyprus vs Karpatalya (Queen Elizebeth II Stadium, Enfield Town FC)
Group C - Padania vs Matabeleland (Gander Green Lane, Sutton United FC)
Group D - Panjab vs Kabylia (Arbour Park, Slough Town FC)

7pm
Opening Ceremony (Hayes Lane, Bromley FC)

8pm
Barawa vs Tamil Eelam (Hayes Lane, Bromley FC)

Saturday 2nd June
2pm
Group A - Barawa vs Cascadia (Colston Avenue Football Stadium, Carshalton Athletic FC)
Group B - Abkhazia vs Karpatalya (Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield Town FC)
Group C - Szekely Land vs Matabeleland (Coles Park Stadium, Haringey Borough FC)
Group D - United Koreans In Japan vs Kabylia (Larges Lane, Bracknell Town FC)

5pm
Group A - Ellan Vannin vs Tamil Eelam (Colston Avenue Football Stadium, Carshalton Athletic FC)
Group B - Northern Cyprus vs Tibet (Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield Town FC)
Group C - Padania vs Tuvalu (Coles Park Stadium, Haringey Borough FC)
Group D - Panjab vs Western Armenia (Arbour Park, Slough Town FC)

Sunday 3rd June
3pm
Group A - Barawa vs Ellan Vannin (Coles Park Stadium, Haringey Borough FC)
           Tamil Eelam vs Cascadia (St Paul's Sports Ground, Fisher FC)
Group B - Abkhazia vs Northern Cyprus (Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield Town FC)
           Karpatalya vs Tibet (Larges Lane, Bracknell Town FC)

6pm
Group C - Tuvalu vs Matabeleland (Coles Park Stadium, Haringey Borough FC)
           Padania vs Szekely Land (Bedfont Recreation Ground, Bedfont Sports FC)
Group D - Western Armenia vs Kabylia (Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield Town FC)
           Panjab vs United Koreans In Japan (Arbour Park, Slough Town FC)

After a rest day on Monday June 4th the placement round's begin for 9th-16th and also 5th-8th, so each side is given the chance to play as much football as possible and to finish the tournament in a place.  I will write a piece on this once the group games are done.

At the same time the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals will be played before the final day (next Saturday 9th June) sees the Third Place Play Off and Grand Final take place at Enfield's Queen Elizabeth II Stadium. 

Reigning holders Abkhazia go into the tournament as second favourites behind Padania, followed by Panjab, Barawa and United Koreans In Japan.  And if you are looking for true long shots at winning the whole thing then take a look at Tibet or late additions Tuvalu, however whatever happens it sure proves to be an exciting ten days.

I will be attending the two games at Enfield Town on Sunday 3rd June as well as Semi Final B next Thursday at Carshalton Athletic, I would of gone to more had work commitments not got in the way!!!


Also I will be writing a blog on each day, so stay tuned!!!

Coventry City 3 Exeter City 1

SkyBet League Two Playoff Final, Monday 28th May 2018 (at Wembley)

Second half goals from Jordan Willis, Jordan Shipley and Jack Grimmer saw Coventry City earn promotion back to the third tier at their first attempt after seeing off Exeter City at Wembley in the SkyBet League Two playoff final.

There was not a lot to choose between the sides coming into this one, and both had put in decent second leg efforts to reach this stage, so both were confident of victory at Wembley.  

The only advantage the Sky Blues may have had was the number of fans they had inside the stadium, as almost 40,000 had travelled down from the midlands to cheer on their side, outnumbering Exeter City’s support by around a ratio of 3:1, in a crowd of just over 50,000 inside a boiling hot Wembley which saw the temperature at kick off hit 30c.

The first shot at goal came from the Sky Blues as Marc McNulty fired a long range effort over the bar, as the midland’s side started the brighter.  A nice touch on 9 minutes came when both sets of supporters rose to applaud to pay tribute to former Coventry striker Cyrille Regis and Exeter striker Adam Stansfield, although a rather busy steward tried to get us to sit down, good old Wembley eh.

On 15 minutes McNulty looked to be in for Coventry, that was until Jordan Storey got back to produce an outstanding tackle to deny him, and then McNulty again tried his luck from distance, but keeper Christy Pym was on hand to save comfortably, however the Sky Blues continued to dominate early on.

Exeter’s first attempt on goal didn’t arrive until just past the half hour when Ryan Harley unleashed an effort which Lee Burge caught easily, and then Shipley tried his luck from outside the box, however Pym was equal to it in the Grecians goal.

However the stifling heat was a factor and for a time the tempo slowed, understandably, and although it rose again towards the end of the half, neither team could find a breakthrough and this contest remained goalless at the break.

Half Time Coventry City 0 Exeter City 0

Most people thought after that first half maybe one goal would settle this one, however Coventry came out with much more purpose in the second period and saw a McNulty effort beaten away by Pym two minutes into it.

But just a minute later the Sky Blues took the lead, and how, as centre half Willis curled an absolute beauty into the far corner from outside the box and cue bedlam in the Coventry end of the ground, and their team had made the ideal start to the second half.

Well, the ideal start got even more ideal five minutes later when Shipley got onto a pass from McNulty and struck a deflected effort past a helpless Pym and into the corner of the net to send the near 40,000 Coventry fans in delirium as they could taste their first promotion for 51 years as their side had taken a firm grip on proceedings.

Exeter were now doing their best to get back into proceedings, however Shipley almost made it three on the hour mark when his long range strike sailed just past the upright, but with just over twenty minutes left it was three and again the quality of the goal was top class, as McNulty played a short pass to Grimmer who curled a magnificent left footed effort beyond Pym who had no chance at all, and the Sky Blues were now cruising to promotion.

Credit to the Grecians though, who kept plugging away, and with fifteen minutes left saw a shot from Harley well saved from Burge, however it was nearly four for the Sky Blues after Tom Bayliss almost scored a superb solo effort, but Pym produced a fine save to deny him.

With seven minutes remaining Matt Jay almost bagged one for the Grecians, but Burge dived to deny his long range effort, and with a minute of normal time left Exeter did find a goal to give themselves a sniff of a comeback when substitute Kyle Edwards cut inside and curled a brilliant effort into the far corner.

Five minutes of stoppage time remained, and Exeter were pushing for a second, and saw Jayden Stockley chest down and fired just wide of the post, a second their would of made the last minute or two of stoppage time nerve racking to say the least for those Sky Blues fans.

But they were celebrating moments later as the final whistle went, and Coventry City were back in League One and achieved their first promotion since 1967, so it was a grand day for the club and just rewards for all those fans who have suffered a lot over the last decade or so.

For Exeter it was a second successive playoff final defeat after their loss to Blackpool in last seasons showpiece at Wembley, and with the possibility of Paul Tisdale leaving after this, it could be a time of change for the Devon side.

But for now, it’s Coventry’s day, well done to them, League One awaits you.

Full Time Coventry City 3 Exeter City 1

Non League Finals Day 2017-18

Sunday 20th May 2018

The third Non League Finals day took place at Wembley this weekend and I was present (in the royal box I would like to add) for this wonderful celebration of Non League football which brings together leagues from all over the land as well as supporters from the four teams taking part in the day, as well as others who just simply want to see two competitive finals for a very decent price.

The two finals in question are of course the Buildbase FA Vase and Trophy finals, and this year it saw Northern League Stockton Town take on Hellenic League Thatcham Town in the Vase, whilst Vanarama National League North Brackley Town took on Vanarama National League Bromley in the Trophy.

And as ever the first final kicked off at 12:15pm and as always it was the Vase first up, so lets have a look at what happened in that final:-

Buildbase FA Vase Final

Stockton Town 0 Thatcham Town 1

Shane Cooper-Clark’s first half penalty proved enough for Thatcham Town to take the FA Vase honours at Wembley, capping what has been a wonderful season for the Berkshire side.

It also ended a strangle hold the Northern League had on the Vase although the North East side did begin the match well but repeatedly ran into Thatcham centre half Baboucarr Jarra, who time and again put his body on the line for this side.  

This was first evident when he prevented Stockton from taking an early lead when he managed to bravely head clear before Chris Stockton could nod erm….Stockton into the lead, and this proved important midway through the half when Jordan Brown was brought down by James Ward inside the area for a Thatcham penalty.

And Cooper-Clark, who had already netted a bundle of goals this season, stepped up and despite seeing keeper Michael Arthur get a big hand to the spot kick, saw the ball end up in the net and Thatcham had the lead they wanted.

This seemed to settle the Berkshire side down and they looked to control the contest, and just before the break nearly doubled their lead when Cooper-Clark saw a free kick loop back to him and he struck a first time volley which was awkward for keeper Arthur, however he managed to gather and keep the score down, however it was the Southerners who held the advantage going into the break.

Half Time Stockton Town 0 Thatcham Town 1

Thatcham looked to make life more comfortable by adding a second, and they almost did just that when the dangerous Ekow Elliott got clear before squaring to Gavin James, but the striker saw his effort saved by Arthur, and then six minutes later Thatcham looked like they had doubled their lead when James thumped an effort against the underside of the bar and apparently not over the line, although to me and a few others it looked in, however it wasn’t given and the Berkshire side had passed up another chance.

This seemed to breathe new life into Stockton and they soon began to put Thatcham under pressure and remember that guy called Jarra???......well he produced another heroic block to prevent Woodhouse from levelling for the Northern League side, and several corners from Stockton followed as they searched for that all-important leveller.

Five minutes of stoppage time then followed, and with Stockton throwing everyone forward, including keeper Arthur for a corner, Thatcham broke and with no keeper home substitute Ross Cook attempted to find the empty net, but his weak finish was cleared off the line by Matthew Garbutt, typifying the incredible effort all were putting into this final.

But it was Thatcham who would hear the winning final whistle soon after and see the Hellenic League promotion winners take the FA Vase for this season.  Commiserations to Stockton although for them just to be here was an achievement in just their second season in the competition after a meteoric rise through the pyramid in recent years.  A good battle it was played in the right spirit.

Full Time Stockton Town 0 Thatcham Town 1

Here are the winners with their trophy, thanks to thefa.com for the image:-

…and here are some snaps of the Vase final taken by myself:-

So well done to Thatcham Town on their FA Vase triumph, and after a nice lunch in the Royal Box hospitality it was back out to take in the FA Trophy final at 4:15pm which put National North Brackley Town up against National League Bromley, and here is how that game panned out:-

Buildbase FA Trophy Final

Brackley Town 1 Bromley 1 (aet; Brackley Town won 5-4 on penalties)

Gareth Dean netted a stoppage time leveller before his side went onto win a dramatic penalty shoot out and take the FA Trophy honours at the expense of Bromley at Wembley in Game Two on Non League Finals Day.

It had looked promising for the South East London club early on and after twenty minutes they took the lead when Adam Mekki’s slide rule pass found Omar Bugiel who made no mistake to slot beyond Danny Lewis and give the National League outfit the advantage.

It almost got better for them seven minutes later as well when George Porter, who seemed to have his own fan club in the box above us in the royal box, saw a volley well saved by Lewis, however the National North side weren’t without their own chances as they gave a very good account of themselves against a team a step higher.

Despite this though it was the higher division side who did have a slender lead at the break.

Half Time Brackley Town 0 Bromley 1

Brackley then enjoyed their best spell of the game after half time and saw James Armson roll a left footed effort narrowly wide of the post, and then Armson came even closer just before the hour mark when he saw an effort strike the woodwork.

Armson then fired high and wide, and Bromley keeper Gregory was performing heroics to keep the National North outfit out, and you felt that it just wasn’t going to be their day in front of goal.

Bromley themselves did have chances in the second period to seal the win, seeing an effort curl wide of the far post, and also see a last ditch tackle thwart substitute Brandon Hanlon, who had broken clear of the Brackley back line, however it looked like Bugiel’s first half strike would prove enough to win the Trophy for Bromley.

Five minutes into stoppage time though, Brackley finally knocked the door down, as a shot from Lowe went through a crowded penalty area and bounced back off the post, and Dean was on hand to tap home the rebound and take the game into extra time.

The intensity of the ninety-five minutes had obviously taken it’s toll on the players in hot conditions, as the extra half hour slowed to a crawl at times, as both teams were out of steam, meaning the game would be decided from the penalty spot.

Frankie Sutherland went first for Bromley and scored, before Shane Byrne missed Brackley’s first spot kick, handing the early advantage to the favourites.  Frankie Raymond, Hanlan and Josh Rees then all scored for Bromley, whilst Aaron Williams, Steve Diggin and Armson netted for Brackley.

It all meant that if Bugiel netted Bromley’s fifth and final spot kick, they would win, however he blazed his spot kick over and left Glenn Walker needing to score to take it to sudden death, and the Brackley player did just that, and we were tied at 4-4 after regulation.

Jack Holland then missed Bromley’s first sudden death spot kick, and then saw Andy Brown net the winning penalty to send his teammates and management/fans delirious as they had stunned Bromley to win the FA Trophy for this season.  What drama to end a wonderful day.

Full Time aet Brackley Town 1 Bromley 1 (Brackley Town won 5-4 on penalties)

The winning team with the Trophy, thanks to thefa.com for the image:-

….and here are my snaps I took of the Trophy final:-

So that concluded a long but enjoyable day, well done to Thatcham Town and Brackley Town on your triumphs today, and also well played Stockton Town and Bromley who more than played their part in the day.

Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0

Emirates FA Cup Final, Saturday 19th May 2018 (at Wembley)

Eden Hazard's first-half penalty decided the FA Cup final in Chelsea's favour at Wembley to leave Jose Mourinho and Manchester United empty-handed this season.

This was my first ever Cup Final and I must say the atmosphere was much better than I ever expected, and the singing of ‘Abide with Me’ was very surreal I must say, certainly a moment I won’t forget that’s for sure.

Many had predicted a United win, however the first effort of the game saw Chelsea’s Hazard fire in a near post effort which David De Gea saved with his legs, but midway through the first half the Blues had the chance to take the lead when a lovely pass from Cesc Fabregas saw Hazard take the ball in his stride, outpace Phil Jones, before the United defender made a right hash of a last ditch saving tackle and brought his opponents down inside the box for a penalty.

And it was the Belgian who picked himself up to net the spot kick, and the South West Londoners led this showpiece event at Wembley.  It had been a fairly quiet opening to this one however this moment certainly livened up the crowd, especially in the Blue end of Wembley.

A fairly defensive half then continued, and it wasn’t until the latter echelons of the half that another chance arrived, and it was United who almost levelled when Ashley Young’s cross to the back post saw Jones almost make up for his error at the other end, however his downward header went wide of the far post.

It meant this rather defensive forty five minutes ended with Chelsea having a slender lead at the break, with United needing to do a lot more if they were to get back into this contest.

Half Time Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0

United, with striker Romelu Lukaku only fit enough for a place on the bench, did raise their game after the break and saw Marcus Rashford go close, this after Alexis Sanchez had won the ball back in the danger zone, however the former’s effort was straight at Thibaut Courtois, as Chelsea desperately tried to hold onto their slender lead.

And then a moment of history as VAR was used for the first time in an FA Cup Final, as after a United effort has been saved by Courtois, Sanchez prodded home the rebound on the slide, and United thought they were level, however the flag had gone up for offside, and after referee Michael Oliver had consulted the boys with the replays, he confirmed the United attacker was in an offside position to upheld his assistant’s decision.

Chelsea, who had been under a lot of second half pressure, so nearly sealed their victory when they broke two on one and N’Golo Kante’s ball to Marcus Alonso saw the latter’s effort saved by De Gea to keep United in the contest, although in the aftermath the ball did appear to strike Young’s arm inside the box, however this wasn’t seen by referee, VAR or anyone else who was present and officiating, much to Chelsea’s disgust.

And then came the chance United were craving, and it fell to Paul Pogba, who had a free header from an Anthony Martial corner, however the United midfielder sent his downward header way wide of the goal, and you felt at that moment it wasn’t going to be United’s day.

And that was that, Hazard’s penalty midway through the first half was enough for the Blues to take the FA Cup honours for 2017-18, and the much-awaited handshake between Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho ended in a hug between the two managers.  Will this be Conte’s final hurrah??  We shall see, but this was certainly Chelsea’s day in the sun at Wembley.

Full Time Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0

Here is the winning team, as captured by Chelsea FC themselves, so many thanks for the image:-

And here are some snaps I took myself of the big day:-

United London 1 West Essex Reserves 2

Essex Alliance Premier Division Cup Final, Tuesday 15th May 2018 (at Dagenham & Redbridge FC)

Goals from Lloyd Renvoize and Adam Norris saw West Essex Reserves take Essex Alliance Premier Division Cup glory after they came from behind to defeat United London at Dagenham's Victoria Road ground.

It was billed as a decent final as these teams finished second and third respectively in the Premier Division and it was third placed West Essex who had the first attempt on goal with a spectacular overhead kick, however in the 11th minute United took the lead when their opponents left two free at the back post and saw the ball thumped home via a defenders leg and in off the bar.

United then fired another effort at goal from long range but Essex drew level midway through the half when a corner saw Renvoize flick home a header at the near post, and this very decent contest was all square again.

United then saw a good move down the left but his pullback to the edge of the box was fired high over the bar, and then a crazy couple of minutes saw Essex almost net at one end, before United launched another attack and saw a great double save deny them retaking the lead.

However it did mean the half ended all square and with a promising second half to come we all thought.

Half Time United London 1 West Essex Reserves 1

However the second half didn't really live up to those expectations as saw no real chances of note in the early passages but when a decent chance did eventually arrive it fell to Essex after a United defender made a right hash of trying to run the ball out for a goal kick, however the pull back was struck wide.

United fired a long range effort wide and you began to think that a winner was unlikely and penalties would be needed in this one to determine the winners.

But with five minutes remaining Essex found that winner and great work down the left saw a ball crossed into the dangerzone and Norris was there to apply the finishing touch from inside the six yard box and turn this one around for them.

It was a blow that United London could not recover from and meant West Essex Reserves took the honours.


Full Time United London 1 West Essex Reserves 2