On Friday (15th May), Calcinotto won the Currie & Brown Charity Football Tournament, hosted at Stoneham Lane, home to AFC Eastleigh, on behalf of homelessness charity The Society of St. James.
The group stage
The competition had 16 teams, split into 2 groups, with the rules dictating two competitions, a cup and a plate depending on how you finished in your respective groups. Top 4 of each group were entered into the Cup and the rest entered into a Plate.
Calcinotto took on two players from fellow company TNG as they bowed out with not enough players. Despite strong showings early on we had 2 injuries rendering our extra ringers extremely useful, and the team had yet to gel together properly, seen quite clearly with a disappointing draw in the group stage.
Calcinotto finished second in the group, with a good defensive record, losing only once to the tournament hosts (C&B Southampton), and only conceding 3 times in 6 games. This put us into the quarter-finals in the Cup format.
The Cup
Calcinotto were matched up against Crowther Associates in the quarter finals, and there was a controversial moment as we scored as the whistle was about to be blown for half-time, which ultimately put us through to the Semi-finals against Lester Aldridge.
The semi-final produced a tense game where we went behind to a long ball early on. We scored from a corner in the second half and produced a nice passage of play to go 2-1 up, which could’ve extended to 3 as our opposition committed members forward.
The Final
In poetic fashion, Calcinotto were matched against C&B Southampton, the only team we had lost to. With footballing great Matt Le Tissier refereeing the game, it wasn’t just pride at stake. Calcinotto started strong and probably should have taken the lead in the first half, with some good chances carved out early on.
Our goal came from a great team move, shifting defence to attack with a number of passes leading to a crucial 1-2 to put us in on goal, and was calmly slotted away. We had a moment of uncertaincy when a corner was cleared into the path of their striker, forcing a great stop from Tom in goal.
The Celebration
After the tournament there was a barbeque put on by the club staff which went down well with all! Guest Speaker Matt Le Tissier handed out both the Cup and the Plate to each winner…
