| Gadeside Rangers suffered their first defeat in 12 games as they lost out in the semi-final of the Presidents Cup - the same trophy they were triumphant in last season as they succumed to a late goal in an epic encounter against The Reindeer. |
| Gadeside found themselves under early pressure as The Reindeer made full use of their long throw weapon. It was no surprise when they went ahead when another long throw found a Reindeer defender who powerfully headed home unchallenged from close range. It was generally one way traffic as Gadeside failed to get a grip on the game but did draw level midway through the first half. Ironically, it was a long throw from Shanton Towle which found Russell Popplewell who headed home from 8 yards. |
| In what was generally a very scrappy first half, The Reindeer regained the advantage just before half time when a near post corner was flicked on and deflected off Danny Everritt before creeping over the line. Shortly after half-time and the lead was extended when another long throw was not dealt with an a Reindeer striker crept in to score from close range. Gadeside looked dead, buried and disinterested but setup a grandstand finale. |
| Adam Hills' long range drive was deflected into the path of Tom Mitchell who crossed for Shanton Towle to head home from 6 yards. That sparked Gadeside back into life and after a spell of pressure drew level when a deep free was headed back across goal by Towle to where Adam Hills had the simple task of firing home to bring the scores level once again. Despite their woeful performance for the majority of the game, it was Gadeside who now looked the more likely winners. |
| But with the game heading for extra time, The Reindeer were awarded a dubious free kick which was superbly struck home into the top corner to secure victory. All in all, The Reindeer deserved their victory - they wanted it far more than Gadeside - but having got back into the game from nowhere, it was a sickening blow. Gadeside now head back to league action with a home game against North Bushey next weekend. |
| Rob Metcalf, Ian Freeman, Jason Brownhill, Danny Everritt, Matt Evans, Russell Popplewell (Tariq Khan), Ivanz Mani, Adam Hills, Tom Mitchell, Shanton Towle, Toby Zhou (Ben Higginson) |