Kings Langley 0 Sun Sports 0             Aubrey Cup Final @ Bovingdon FC            1994/95

Mediterranean conditions but final was far from hot

The Mediterranean climate and sun baked pitch reduced Saturday's Aubrey Cup Final to a forgettable two hours.
The Sun beat down all afternoon and it was asking a lot of the players to push themselves in normal time and the extra 30 minutes, but neither side showed a great deal of inventiveness and it would have been an injustice  had either side nicked a winner.
The pitch at Bovingdon had a good covering of grass but underneath was like concrete and made the ball bounce ridiculously high.
Add to that two defences who dominated and there were all the ingredients for a classic stalemate.
Sun had more possession but their final ball let them down and their best chances came from the accurate set pieces of Andy Wood, who was their most lively player going forward.
However, Sun's strike pair of Richie Galvin and Phil Walker got little change out of the experienced Langley duo of Cliff Sage and Chris Reid.
At the other end, Sun deployed Alan Dean as a sweeper and kept things fairly tight. Paddy Gallagher generally coped well with the aerial threat of the giant Phil Reid but the Langley man could have stolen a winner on more than one occasion, his wayward shooting costing him dearly when handed a couple of chances.
Aside from Reid's misses Langley had one other excellent chance but were denied by a superb triple save from Trevor Davis.
Langley forced the best openings but even they were few and far between and although Sun enjoyed greater possession, their lack of a killer ball limited them to no more than one or two opportunities.
Both sides could have won the game, but neither could lay claim to being that much better so as to deserve it.
A draw and another chance to earn victory was fair all round.
"If you're involved on the touchline, those sort of games aren't quite so bad but for everyone else it must have been pretty awful," said Sun's Terry Hows.
"Finals tend to be pretty poor and with the heat and hard pitch it was never going to be a classic. We had more possession but they had the better chances, a draw was fair on the day."
Langley manager Kevin Andrews felt his side could have won the game.
"On chances I felt we could have won it but I can't complain about a draw," he said.
"There was a lot at stake and the sides tended to be concerned with not giving anything away. It was very hot on a hard pitch and that made for a pretty poor game."
The first twenty minutes were promising but after that the game died.
In the first minute Andy Wood hit a 25 yards effort that Colin Hunt held and then Galvin shot over after connecting with Sage's headed clearance.
When Stuart Read won a tackle in midfield he broke and then slipped the ball to Stuart Kent who scuffed his shot when in a good position.
Hunt had to parry and then hold an awkward Ash shot which bounced awkwardly before the Langley keeper dived to tip away an Ash half volley which took a deflection.
In between, Wood and Langley skipper Trevor Tharp were booked following a scuffle.
Colin McMillan curled a free kick over the bar and then Darren Rowe cleared from near the goal after Kent had checked in the box and shot.
Walker headed away after Phil Reid had nodded McMillan's corner goalwards but the best chance of the half came at the other end in the 40th minute.
Greg Manning played a high ball into the box and Chris Reid attempted to head it over his own bar.
However, it dipped towards the far corner and Hunt had to stretch and tip it over the top.
Kent was booked after an hour for talking back to the referee before Reid missed his first good chance a minute later.
Stuart Read cut in from the left but the ball ran away from him and straight to Reid.
He hit a low show but the ball curled wide of the post.
Paul Jones was then booked for a foul on Kent before Reid was again guilty.
McMillan knocked a high ball towards Nick Read but it dropped invitingly for Reid. He had space but sent a wild drive into the gardens behind the goal.
At the other end Galvin climbed well to head a corner wide before Wood cut inside and unleashed a rising 25 yard drive which Hunt did well to palm over.
Hunt caught a bouncing Doug Taylor header in the 77th minute before Phil Reid was booked for a foul.
In the 81st minute Davis dashed from his goal to block as Dean and Kent battled for a through ball.
Gallagher did well to retrieve a free kick and cross for Taylor to turn and fire over and with two minutes to go Sun had a great chance.
Hunt was forced from his goal to punch clear from Walker.
The ball dropped to Wood and he controlled before lobbing the stranded keeper, only to see the ball run wide.
In the final minute Davis denied Langley when they must have though they had done it.
Kent's 20 yard shot took a deflection and Davis had to jack-knife and parry the ball.
It fell for Stuart Read but he saw Davis recover to block twice more while on the ground.
Extra time was not an inviting prospect for either set of players and the 30 minutes did not produce anything.

Sun Sports: Davis, Rowe, Jones, Wood, Gallagher, Manning, Ash, Taylor, Walker, Galvin, Dean.
Subs: Masters for Manning, Dunton for Walker