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2009/2010 season review
Another tremendous season for Dave Knight’s Sunday side saw them achieve a unique treble, winning the Division 1 title and retaining the two cups they won last year as well as reaching another cup final.
The team played a total of 30 league and cup matches, winning a remarkable 23 games, with 2 draws and only 5 defeats, scoring 94 goals on the way and conceding 46. The boys hit the ground running at the start of the season, winning their first 5 league games and remained consistent throughout the season, even in a crazy fixture pileup at the end of the season on their winning cup run which saw them play 6 cup games in 12 days (including 3 cup finals) and 3 matches which went to extra time.
League
There were many highlights in both league and cup competitions. In the league one of the best performances early on was the 7:2 hammering of WSM Celtic where the score could easily have reached double figures. After 5 straight wins the shock 4:2 defeat to Flackwell in October removed any hint of complacency and the title was secured in January after a hard fought 1:1 draw against King St Rose and a thrilling 5:4 win over Desborough thanks to a last minute penalty by Aaron Lennon off the inside of the post. On a less savoury note the boys had to keep their discipline in the 5:1 victory over Kings Head (surely the dirtiest team we’ve ever played), who caused 2 punch-ups including landing an unprovoked right hook on James Gisbourne’s chin which was captured on camera. Thankfully Kings Head were later thrown out of the league so the return fixture didn’t have to be played.
League Challenge Cup
The team’s resilience and character was highlighted in the cup competitions. In the League Challenge cup quarter final against Hurley the boys came back from 2:0 down to win 3:2 thanks to a superb finish by James Gisbourne. Cookham were cruising to victory in the semi-final thanks to a 3:0 half-time lead over Shamrocks, but ended hanging on for a 3:2 win after a second half comeback by the visitors. Aaron Lennon scored a trademark free-kick which turned out to be the winner. A disappointing performance in their first final against FC Bentons however saw the boys equalise against the run of play in the first half thanks to a Josh Waldren header, only to fall victim to the worst refereeing decision of the season when Bentons were gifted a penalty after David Olver went up for a header.
League Trophy
The defeat spurred the boys on to victory in their other cup competitions. The League Trophy was retained thanks to penalty shoot-out victories in both the semi-final and final against Cippenham Crowns and BAA Heathrow respectively. Again Cookham looked to be cruising in the semi-final, taking a 2:0 lead only to be pegged back and to fall behind to Cippenham only for James Gisbourne to hit an equaliser in extra time to make the final score 4:4 and take the tie to penalties when Aaron O’Brien saved 2 spot kicks to take Cookham into the final. BAA Heathrow provided a tough test in the final with their physical approach and although Cookham played the better football they denied by the opposition’s keeper on several occasions in normal time and with the scores goalless after extra time the tie again went to penalties. Cookham were trailing early on but again thanks to keeper Aaron O’Brien who saved two penalties, and successful spot-kicks by James Gisbourne, Nathan Lishman, Aaron Steadman and Dean Knight, Cookham were victorious.
Roy Lester Trophy
There were some fine performances on the way to retaining the Roy Lester Trophy. The hardest match was against a strong Langley Murphs side where a depleted Cookham side took the lead through Josh Waldren only to be pegged back at full time, with Lee Miles scoring the winner in extra time with an excellent far post header. After a routine victory over Flackwell Heath in the quarter final, Cookham again had to dig deep in the semi-final against Dedworth who were leading 2:0 at half-time thanks to superb finishes from their striker. Cookham hit four goals without reply in the second half in a devastating display, with James Gisbourne, Dan Wilson, Jamie Hanscombe and Nathan Lishman getting on the score sheet. In the final another polished display against a talented young West Drayton side saw them run out 2:0 winners thanks to goals from James Gisbourne and a superb Jamie Hanscombe header from a fine Lee Jerum cross. The win was made easier when West Drayton were reduced to 10 men early on when Gisbourne was brought down when through on goal.
Transfers
The season saw the following new players join: Aaron Lennon (striker) and Jamie Hanscombe (defender/striker). Although neither managed to reach double figures in appearances e.g. due to injury (Aaron) or suspension (Jamie) their quality was evident whenever they played and they made telling contributions in a number of matches. We saw Chris Sargent and David Ratsakitika leave during the season for university and Daragh Doyle for a gap year but all 3 managed a handful of appearances in September and particularly Chris and Daragh in the cup competitions at the tail end of the season.
Awards
Manager’s and Players’ Player of the Year went to Josh Waldren who has emerged as an outstanding central midfielder also able to fill in at full back when needed and scoring 10 goals. Other contenders included Daniel Wilson (last year’s winner) and Lee Jerum who again had fine seasons in defence and midfield respectively.
Goalscorers
The leading goalscorer and runner up in 2009/2010 were unchanged from last season with James Gisbourne getting the golden boot with 27 (29 last season) and Nathan Lishman 17 (15 last season). Josh Waldren was in third place with 10 goals (same as last season) followed by Aaron Lennon (9), Lee Jerum (7) and skipper Dean Knight (6).
The boys are looking forward to the challenge of playing against Premier League opponents on a weekly basis and the competition will be even tougher due to the new teams expected to be joining the league. However exciting additions to the squad are planned with a couple of quality players expected to join and we know that if we continue with the level of performance from last season we are more than capable of winning more silverware in 2010/11.
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