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AFC Wimbledon were crowned Ryman Youth Cup winners for 2009 after beating Borehamwood 3 - 1 yesterday at Kingsmeadow. On a very good pitch and against extremely tough opposition the Young Dons were superb in their application.
Early signs were pretty even, with Borehamwood choosing to play with five in midfield and one up top. Borehamwood looked to play the ball out of the back but this backfired as Timi Borges-Da-Silva hassled the full back into a mistake, Borges-Da-Silva won the ball and found top scorer Peter Rapson who fired into the bottom corner from 16 yards. This after only four minutes of the game seemed to settle any nerves and the Dons continued to pass the ball around the park. To be fair to Borehamwood they also tried to play football on the ground and after 16 minutes hit the bar with a fine strike after winning possession in midfield.
The game turned again after half an hour when a wicked corner from Harry Knock was delivered into the box, the ball fell behind Peter Rapson who produced a piece of magic with a bicycle kick that found the top corner. Borehamwood changed their shape to try to influence the game but the score at half time remained 2 - 0.
Half Time 2 - 0
Borehamwood came out determined in the second half and threw everything at the Wimbledon defence. The Dons were relying on counter attacks as Borehamwood kept the pressure on.
After an hour Borehamwood deservedly pulled a goal back when a corner wasn't cleared and ended up at the back post where the forward gave Jack Turner in goal no chance with a sweetly struck shot.
For the next 15 minutes Borehamwood knocked on the door but as ever the Dons defence and keeper were resolute in their defending and gave nothing to the Wood forwards. Tom Tollady replaced Billy Manning who had a knock on the ankle.
The game was settled when Jordan Hutchinson made room down the right of the penalty area, his cross found the prolific Rapson who completed his hat-trick to take the game away from Borehamwood. Jamie Evans then replaced Callum Wellburn with 10 minutes to go.
With five minutes left the Dons were awarded a penalty when the referee spotted a handball in the area, James Stenning stepped up to take the kick but missed the target. Josh Ayres then replaced the hardworking Borges-Da-Silva as the Dons saw out the remaining minutes.
The final whistle sounded and the celebrations began as skipper Jack Stafford picked up the trophy. This was another outstanding squad performance in which 19 players were involved in the game. Every squad player had played their part as the team progressed through the rounds, beating some very good sides along the way.
Thursday sees us play Staines Town at Kingsmeadow in the decider for the league title. The team knows this is going to be another very, very tough game as Staines are an excellent side. Well Done Boys!!
