| Gadeside Rangers were crowned champions of the Olympian League as they secured their first ever Premier Division title with a 6-0 hammering of Abbots Langley. Dan Campbell continued his extraordinary goalscoring record with his 7th hat-trick of the season while brothers Jay and Matt Evans and Adam Hills were also on the scoresheet. |
| Abbots played the first 5 minutes with just eight players but Gadeside's passing was often rushed or overhit as they struggled to cope with the bobbly pitch. Abbots did eventually manage to field 10 men and they sat back and hit Gadeside on the counter attack. Lee Smith saw a fierce effort fly for the hosts while Adam "Andy Cole" Hills inexcusably side footed wide, with the goal gaping - from all of 3 yards after a good run by Jay Evans. Gadeside did get the goal they needed to settle some nerves when Hills' hooked through ball sent Dan Campbell clear to round the keeper and roll into the net. Gadeside were well on top but all too often their final delivery was poor but they double the lead on the half hour mark when Campbell was on hand to cooly lob the Abbots keeper. But Abbots responded and should have reduced the deficit when Lee Smith broke the offside trap and squared to O'Reilly whose shot into the ground was superbly tipped over by Tom Oliver. |
| But Gadeside never really looked in any danger after that moment and made it 3-0 on half-time. A corner was half cleared to the edge of the box where Jay Evans hit a sweet volley which dipped into the far corner. The second half was a pretty turgid affair - both sides perhaps with an eye on Sunday's semi-final clash. Gadeside scored a late flurry of goals starting when Adam Hills made amends for his earlier miss when his slotted home after good work by Matthew Barrett. Ian Freeman was upended in the box leaving referee Dignum no option but to award the penalty. Up stepped Matty Evans to sidefoot home his first goal in 18 months. The evening was rounded off in typical style when Dan Campbell steered a header home to complete his 7th hat-trick of the season and rack up his 32nd goal of the season. |
| It was far from a vintage Gadeside performance, but to win 6-0 without playing particularly well is a sign of a good side. After the game, a delighted Adam Hills said: "At last, we have finally secured it. It's seemed to have taken an age to be mathematically certain of doing it but am relieved we have. Credit to all involved, it's been a long hard 9 months but well worth it. Sunday's game will be a totally different game and I am sure Abbots will give us a much tougher game." |
| Tom Oliver, Balraj Singh, Ian Freeman, Matt Evans, James Bridges, Ben Higginson, Ivanz Mani (Matthew Barrett), Jay Evans, Adam Hills, Dan Campbell, Jason Brownhill (Justyn Walcott) |