B.B.O.B SIX-A-SIDE
Kingsley Park WMC FC took part in the annual Northampton Town League six-a-side competition on Saturday 9th July. The competition consisted of 8 groups, with each group having 4 teams in. The top 2 of each group went through to the knockout stages. Kingsley started the group stages on fire beating Denton "B" 4-0, with goals from Pete Gregory, Chris Pinches and 2 from Matt Collins. After a long break (1h 40mins), Kingsley had Duke of York "A" in their second group game. With a changed line up Kingsley struggled to play the way they did in the opening game, as a result loosing 2-1 with Dave Conway getting on the score sheet. The manager Mark Knight had 1 hour 20 minutes to think about things before the final group game, knowing that we had to win to go through. Mark Knight picked a team close to the team that beat Denton so convincingly and it paid off. Eastern District were no match for a focused Kingsley side who recorded their second 4-0 victory of the day. Matt Collins scored a hat-trick, one being a 20 yard screamer, with Chris Pinches scoring the other to complete the rout. This victory meant Kingsley went through to the knockout stages as runners up of the group.
Due to a bad injury on another pitch, Kingsley's half of the knockout stages had been delayed while the other half was well under way. To make things worse Kingsley were down to only 6 players in the squad after Simon Skipworth picked up an injury and Dave Conway left to see a Oasis concert in Milton Keynes!! (not great commitment!!). This meant the 6 players ( Mark Collins, Tom Bland, Pete Gregory, Chris Pinches, Colin Cooper and Matt Collins) had to pull themselves through on a very hot day. Ashley Rovers were Kingsley's second round opponents, after they finished top of their group. This game witnessed 3 very good Kingsley goals. The game didn't start as planned with Ashley Rovers tacking the lead within 2 minutes with a deflected shot. But within seconds Matt Collins had equalised, firing the ball in off the bar from near the centre spot. Kingsley then got a grip of the game and took the lead in the second half when Colin Cooper found the corner of the net with a well directed shot. The game was over when Matt Collins made it 3-1 with a neat turn and finish inside the box. Next up for Kingsley were Team Chad in the quarter finals. This game was full of goals, 7 in total. Kingsley were awarded a penalty early on after Colin Cooper was brought down in the box. Colin picked himself up and put the penalty away to make it 1-0. Team Chad then scored 2 good goals before Matt Collins equalised just before half time. Kingsley then raced into a 4-2 lead with Matt Collins scoring both of the goals to complete his second hat-trick of the day. Team Chad scored another within minutes to make it 4-3 but a spirited Kingsley team held on for the victory. Kingsley Park's semi final opponents were Airflow "A". This was a physical match which the Kingsley players struggled in due to having no rest in-between games in the knockout stages. Kingsley were 2-1 up at half time thanks to a Colin Cooper double. The players worked their socks off in the second half and were rewarded when Matt Collins got chopped down in the box resulting in a penalty for Kingsley. Colin Cooper stepped up and kept his cool to make it 3-1 and complete his hat-trick. Airflow managed another goal but the Kingsley players stood tall to see themselves through to the final.
Awaiting Kingsley in the final were Loft Style St Andrew "A". With their players having lots of rest and 2 subs this was always going to be a uphill battle. Kingsley battled hard and were unlucky to go 1-0 down just before half time. In the second half Loft Style's freshness showed as they took a 2 goal lead early in the second half. Kingsley had some hope when Matt Collins was brought down for a penalty but Colin Cooper didn't have the energy left to find the back of the net from the penalty spot. Kingsley were unlucky to go 3-0 down when a 20 yard shot came back off the bar, hit goalkeeper Mark Collins and went over the line. The Final whistle went and a drained Kingsley side had lost in the final for the second year running. The players can hold their heads high after getting to the final without any real rest in the knockout stages. Hopefully Kingsley can go that one step further next season and lift the cup.