The team at Central Football would like to offer their congratulations to Eltham Vet Services Eltham A.F.C. for winning the 2018 Men’s Federation Cup. Our congratulations and commiserations also go to Alexander Electric Napier Marist who were worthy finalists and contributed to what was a fantastic cup final.

Played on a beautiful Manawatu day at Memorial Park, Napier Marist had much the better of the first period and will probably rue the fact that they weren’t further in command, being restricted to a 2-0 lead at the break. A number of very good chances were squandered, including a missed penalty. However, they did final success through a double from Harry Mason. The 17-year-old displayed great courage by stepping up to take a second penalty after his earlier miss, giving the Napier side a decent buffer as they headed into the sheds.

To Eltham’s credit, they came out in the second half with something to prove and some astute tactical changes at the break enabled them to close down the space in midfield that Marist had been exploiting. Their aggressive pressing game started to cause panic on the ball and as a result flipping momentum. Eltham were firmly back in the contest after 63 minutes when hard working Eltham striker Luke Snellgrove charged down an under-hit back pass to Marist's keeper Wilson McCullough, allowing him to later walk the ball into an unguarded net. This resulted in a significant shift in the game's flow and although Marist, through Luis Toomey and the talented Dylan Duross were still able to play their way into dangerous areas, it was Eltham that started to take a stranglehold of the game. Snellgrove was starting to win the physical battle up top and midfielders George Alemu, Aaron Coleman and Zeke Oliver were starting to finally establish some dominance and retained possession.

The game completely changed in the space of six minutes as Eltham’s Zeke Oliver became the hero with two superb strikes. Firstly he expertly snuck home a free kick and then, with only 4 minutes of normal time remaining, he hit a peach of a half-volley from the edge of the penalty area to send the Eltham fans into wild celebrations. There was still time for more drama as Marist created two further excellent chances but failed to take either and they were left to lament what if…

The game was well controlled by Jason Marshall with support from Trent Pedley and Andrew Turner and in front of a good size crowd of both Eltham and Marist supporters.

What a fantastic final to conclude what has been a dramatic and enthralling cup competition. From the pressure of a penalty shootout victory against Federation league opposition to a comeback for the ages against one of Hawke's Bay's finest, Etham A.F.C. have proved themselves worthy winners. Our congratulations again to Eltham A.F.C., winners of the 2018 Men’s Federation Cup.

Article added: Tuesday 11 September 2018