This was a game that had everything – brilliant goals, contentious refereeing and real drama. It was clear from the atmosphere before the game that Kewford needed no motivation for this one and so it turned out. Kewford started brightly and could have been 2:0 up in the first 10 minutes, with Phippy and Harvey going close after showing good pace. Defensively Kewford were bossing it, and it was only a matter of time before Kewford took the lead and it came courtesy of a Ryan through ball that sent Phippy away for a rocket of a left foot finish. 1:0. Northfield were struggling to get a foothold in the game, but they got the equaliser with a looping shot that deceived Liam. 1:1. Northfield then took charge for a spell before half time although the defence held firm. At the other end, Harvey and Ryan saw free kicks go wide. Nik replaced Harvey on 25 mins, who was clearly struggling with a sore back.

The second half came to life when Cameron’s movement for a short corner caused confusion in the box and this allowed Chad time to turn and squeeze a shot into the far corner. 2:1. Ryan almost made it 3:1 after finding time and space and firing a 30 yard effort over the bar. Jack then came on to add defensive stability to mark the dangerous left winger , but almost scored at the back post. Phippy then produced a moment of magic as he brought a long ball down out of the air, lobbed it over the defender, took a touch and fired an unstoppable shot high into the top right bins. 3:1. At this point, Northfield looked down and out, but a bizarre penalty was awarded when Elliott slid in to stop the ball going out for a corner. Not only was it right on the edge, the ball also changed trajectory, so even the Northfield management thought it was an odd decision. 3:2. Kewford responded again and the non stop running of Tyrese won the ball back high up the pitch, allowing Phippy to run through to claim his hat trick in style with another pile driver of a finish. 4:2. With the time ticking down, Kyle was penalised for battling for the ball and a high lofted ball was caught by Liam, but he was then barged by an on rushing striker. The ref awarded the goal, but didn’t see the offside flag had been raised. After a 5 minute delay and an ugly melee on the pitch, the ref disappointedly said the goal would stand. However, Kewford defended for their lives with discipline and bravery and saw the game out for a famous win and to put to bed any memories of the last visit to Northfield.

To beat Northfield the way we did on their own pitch beats the premiership every day. A 4:3 victory and an awesome performance to deservedly go through to the Open Cup final on May 8th to,play West Hagley in what promises to be a great game of football.
Big performances all over the pitch, with Votes for Ryan 2, Ben E 2, Chad and whole team, but with 10 votes, supporters man of the match goes to Phippy for an outstanding hat trick of the highest quality and his finest hour in a Kewford shirt.