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The sponsorship deal agreed between
Hillman Contractors and the London FA for the London Senior Cup
competition seems to have inspired clubs into playing some
scintillating football. For the third consecutive year since the
inception of the deal, the 2008 London Senior Cup Final was a
thrilling game.
Tooting & Mitcham United started the game strongly and took a
deserved lead in the 12th minute, when Jon Henry-Hayden knocked the
ball home from close range after Hendon goalkeeper Richard Wilmot had
parried a Romuald Bouadji header.
Hendon’s Danny Dyer levelled the score in the 23rd minute with a
shot from the right of the penalty area but within two minutes a
Henry-Hayden shot from the right restored Tooting’s lead, after he
latched on to a poor defensive clearance.
A 54th minute cross from the left by that man Henry-Hayden (later
to receive an impressive award from Aldridge Glass for his
man-of-the-match performance) enabled Paul Vines to extend Tooting’s
lead to 3-1 with a header from close to the goal line.
Hendon fought their way back into the game and Dave King, who had
made more than 100 appearances for the club but who was now in goal
for Tooting, gave them a route back in the 82nd minute when he tripped
a forward to concede a penalty, which was coolly converted by Brian
Haule. This brought the game to its exciting finale, with Hendon
pressing hard for an equaliser and with Tooting looking to make the
game safe with a goal from a breakaway. Both clubs came close in the
closing stages, with Hendon shooting against the post some 90 seconds
before the final whistle. But neither could do so and the final score
remained 3-2 to the
South London
club.
The game was a credit to both clubs and to the match officials: it
was a wonderful advertisement for football at this level.
Congratulations on Tooting & Mitcham United for lifting the Cup
for the second year in succession and for the sixth time in total,
their previous victories being in 1942, 1949, 1959 and 1960.
Hendon FC: 1 Richard Wilmot, 2 James Parker, 3 James Burgess, 4
Marc Leach, 5 Sam Page (14 Ben Hudell, 66 mins), 6 Daniel Dyer (12
Rakatahr Hudson, 66 mins), 7 Lubomir Guentchev, 8 David Haule (17
Iavor Guentchev, 70 mins), 9 Brian Haule, 10 Belal Aiteouakrim, 11
Jack Page; unused substitutes: 15 Freddie Hyatt, 16 Luke Blackmore.
Tooting & Mitcham United FC: 1 Dave King, 2 Dean Hamlin, 3
Colin Hartburn, 4 Romuald Bouadji, 5 Carl Hutchings, 6 Oliver Hunt, 7
Allan McLeod (14
Vernon
Francis, 68 mins), 8 Jason Pinnock, 9 Paul Vines, 10 Jon Henry-Hayden,
11 Jamie Byatt; unused substitutes: 12 Ryan Gray, 15 Ben Abbey, 16
Ronnie Green, 17 Guilherme Lopez-Dacruz.
Referee: Barry Holderness; Assistant Referees: Babatunde Adebayo
and Matthew Hopton; Fourth Official: Ryan Atkin.
Attendance: 352.
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