On 29 November, Corby Kingswood Football Club claimed the inaugural Northamptonshire FA Community Clubs Cup, at Moulton College.
Five of Northamptonshire’s nine Charter Standard Community Clubs took part in the tournament: Moulton Magpies, Earls Barton, Daventry Town, Daventry Drayton Grange and the eventual victors Corby Kingswood participating in the evening of small-sided football.
However, the 5-a-side tournament which they arrived expecting, took a twist when the Northamptonshire FA’s Football Development Officer, Lee Brown announced that it will be an evening of Futsal entertainment, allowing the sides to highlight the technical side of their game and learn a little more about Futsal in the process.
Another addition to the evening saw Lee Brown give each manager rules of how to act during games, allowing him to gauge how the players react to their manager’s instructions. In the four fixtures, they had to abide by one of the following set of rules in each game; ‘Don’t say a word’, ‘No substitutions allowed’, ‘Positive encourage only’ and ‘Negative comments throughout’.
Each side was made up of the clubs coaches from their various age-grouped teams and committee members, many of who had never played together before the night.
One highlight from the evening was a tight fixture between Moulton Magpies and Drayton Grange, as the two sides were level at 1-1 before Moulton stole a dramatic winner with just three seconds left on the clock.
FA Futsal Referee Rob Whitehouse was also on-hand to officiate the evening, and he upheld the most stringent of Futsal Laws, such as the ball being placed exactly on the line for kick ins, and the players being five metres from the ball for all set pieces, much to the frustration of some of the Sunday-league style players.
Moulton Magpies kept alive their hopes of the title, beating Earls Barton 3-0 in their final fixture, before Corby Kingswood met Daventry Town in the penultimate game, knowing that a win for either side would see them lift the trophy, and a draw gift Moulton the championship crown.
Another close-fought fixture saw Corby Kingswood claim a vital 1-0 victory, and the trophy, kindly donated by DPM Sports, in the process.
If you would like to find out more about how your club can become a Charter Standard Community Club, and gain invitations to tournaments such as this in the process, please contact Lee Brown on either 01604 678406 or Lee.Brown@NorthamptonshireFA.com
For more info about The FA's Charter Standard programme, click here, or to learn more on McDonald's coaching programme visit www.mcdonalds.co.uk
