Scarboro have retained the Froccer Cup in a nailbiter, with a "golden goal" in extra time the only score of the day.
It was an overcast and windy day at O'Toole Stadium in Scarborough but the rain held off and conditions were pretty good for the annual match of "soccer in a frock".
The City team were confident. With the combined advantages of a younger squad and more numbers on the bench, they expected to be able to outrun and outlast the Scarboro team. Unfortunately you can run all day but if you don't have any skills you're going to struggle.
The match was held quite a bit later in the year than in the past, and unfortunately that meant the pitch was missing small details such as goals. A player "connection" with the scaffolding business took care of that, though, with home-made but solid goals built prior to the start of play. The lack of recent line-marking also casued problems, with a number of disputes arising during the match over exactly when the ball was out of play.
After the pre-match formalities (sledging the opposition, introducing the Scarboro-appointed-allegedly-neutral referee and singing the National Anthem), the match got under way with City kicking into the wind in the first quarter.
As expected, with the wind behind them, Scarboro had the ball in attack for the better part of the quarter. But the solid City defence held firm and they were held to just one or two real scoring opportunities, and we went to the first break with no score on the board.
The second quarter was the time when City had their best chances of scoring. With the wind behind them, they went forward a number of times but nobody could get any sort of a realistic shot away. Scarboro, on the other hand, showed their skill with a number of concerted attacks, and it was only some brilliant goalkeeping that kept the match scoreless at half time.
The second half was where Scarboro were supposed to tire and City run over the top, but it didn't seem to work out that way. The City boys certianly did plenty of running, but most of it seemed to be chasing their opponents or getting back for desperate defensive scrambles. But although Scarboro had the better of the play, their finishing let them down with shots continually going wide or high. Three-quarter time: 0-0.
With a quarter to go, City had the wind behind them and were finally starting to set up some realistic attacking moves. But still no-one was able to finish, while at the other end champagne goalkeeping continued to deny the Scarboro forwards. For the first time in it's short but illustrious history, the match was sent into extra time.
Five minutes each way, with a golden goal to finish the game and claim the trophy. City threw an extra man forward to try to force a quick finish, but were still unable to penetrate the Scarboro defence. Not long before the end of the first extra period, Scarboro took the ball down the right, deep into the corner. A cross to the centre cleared the main pack of players before the ball set itself perfectly for a strong left-foot strike past the outstretched fingers of the diving City keeper.
The closest-fought game in Froccer history was over, Scarboro retaining the Cup they won in 2004.
Cup History
| Year | Winner | ||
| 1999 | City | ||
| 2000 | City | ||
| 2001 | Scarboro | ||
| 2002 | Scarboro | ||
| 2003 | City | ||
| 2004 | Scarboro | ||
| 2005 | Scarboro |
Click on photos for full size view
Fashions on display |
 Match action |
Under pressure in defence |
 The reason we went to extra time |
 Match action |
The agony of defeat |
