By Arun Crowe
A clear blue sky, a pristine 3G, and a crowded sideline was the setting that preceded the ESFA semi-final clash between Hampton and Maidstone Grammar school. The tensions around the school were high on the Wednesday afternoon, with both teams casting an eye towards the Bet 365 Stadium, where the final would be held. But only one of the two teams would make it there; history was looming for Hampton in particular, with the prospect of a second ESFA final in just four years on the horizon.
However, it was Maidstone who started the game on top. The first thirty minutes were scrappy, disrupted by tackles, fouls and interceptions as the visitors prohibited Hampton from stringing together any promising passages of play, while threatening themselves with corners and shots from distance. Despite the fact that none of these troubled Hampton goalkeeper Seb Rautenberg, the hosts knew that they could not let the game continue in this vein.
And it didn’t take long for momentum to shift, as even before the half time whistle, Hampton managed to settle into the game, stifling any Maidstone attacks, in part thanks to the introduction of Rufus Lawson at right-back, while carving out opportunities for themselves. The biggest of these opportunities came just minutes before the end of the first forty-five, when Nick Avetoom, who had been the brightest spark for the hosts throughout the first half, cut onto his left foot inside the opposition box before firing inches wide of the post, and then just minutes later, Rio Felonov Tzanev had a goal controversially disallowed for handball by the linesman. But both defences remained unbreached as the referee then blew his whistle to grant fifteen minutes of respite to both sets of players.
The second half coincided with the end of the school day, and so as the game kicked off once more, the crowd continued to grow with every passing minute, and Hampton used this to their advantage and resumed the dominance with which they ended the first half.
They remained patient, with a confident defence, led by Louis Basing, allowing them to take control of the game and, after a tense opening to the second period, launch a barrage of attacks on the Maidstone defence.
Charlie Moffat, Felonov Tzanev and Sami Ghusayni all came close to opening the scoring at last, but while the latter struck powerfully into the side netting, Moffat and Felonov Tzanev were denied by an immense display from the Maidstone goalkeeper. The visitors’ number one produced two sets of double saves to keep the score even, and as the game progressed into extra time with the deadlock still intact, it seemed for all the world that the sides were heading for the dreaded penalties.
However, as the clock ticked into the final minutes of extra time, both teams pushing on with every inch of energy they could muster, the hosts launched one final attack. They built it gradually, crafting it expertly through a midfield combination of Moffat and substitute Alex Pollock, before the former fed it to Angus Hacking on the left. Hacking swung in a pinpoint cross to Felonov Tzanev, who controlled it with his chest before flicking it towards goal, only to be denied by yet another save from the Maidstone keeper. But this time even his last ditch heroics weren’t enough, as captain Ollie Swetman fired home the rebound, sparking pandemonium on the touchline.
There were wild celebrations from the players, spectating pupils and even teachers at this deserved winning goal, and it was to be the final action of the match, with the referee blowing for full time just seconds later.
Hampton will now be heading to Stoke for the culmination of their ESFA campaign, but this may not be the only one our senior sides contest in this year, with the potential of another ESFA final for our 2nd XI leading to the possibility of a truly historic year for Hampton football.
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