According to Wikipedia, the Sheffield and Hallamshire Senior Cup is the 4th oldest surviving cup competition in the world, after the FA Cup, Scottish FA Cup and East of Scotland Shield. I’d never seen a game in this cup, so the 2013 final at Hillsborough seemed an excellent opportunity to rectify that. I suspect that the importance of the county senior cups has been eroded over time by the growth of more national leagues and competitions. Recalling a 2008 Norfolk Senior Cup final at Carrow Road, I remember that the finalists were both non-league teams playing in the then Eastern Counties League, and that the ground contained barely a few hundred spectators. The big guns rarely blood first teams in senior cups, instead opting for reserves or even under-21 teams to fly the flag. Still, this was silverware to be won tonight, and the two finalists here – Frickley and Sheffield FC - were strong local teams playing in the Evostik Northern league, so no doubt this would be a fiercely contested match.
This was the first time I’d sat in the South Stand at Hillsborough, with my once/twice-yearly visits to Sheffield Wednesday usually taking in a view from the Kop. It was somewhat surreal sitting in a near-empty stand in such a large ground; only last week, Wednesday had clinched survival in the Championship in a sell-out match, whilst I recalled the dramatic Sheffield Wednesday-Leeds match earlier in the season. This had a very different feel to those occasions! On one side were Frickley in blue and white, hailing from South Elmshall near Wakefield – which was surely only just inside the Sheffield FA boundary. In red were Sheffield FC, oldest club in the world, now playing at the Coach and Horses ground in Dronfield. As ever, I saw the connections in the match…only 9 days earlier, my team Kings Lynn had beaten Sheffield FC to secure the Evostik Division 1 South title, despite having lost 2-0 at Dronfield back in September. I’d visited Frickley’s ground once before (in December 2008) for a freezing game against Boston United, and can’t remember anything overly pleasant or friendly about the ground. I was siding with Sheffield FC in this one!
The game did not disappoint. With barely 2 minutes gone, Sheffield opened the scoring with a volley from just inside the area deflected past the keeper, well and truly lighting the blue touch paper. Sheffield FC’s no 10 hit a free kick wide shortly after, before his opposite number scuffed a shot wide from close range. Frickley then had a couple of efforts inside the box saved by the Sheffield keeper, and came close to equalising only to be foiled by a sharp Sheffield defender blocking a through ball. The equaliser came shortly before half-time, with Frickley’s no 11 planting a header to the keeper’s right. It could have been 2-1 shortly after, with a clearance off the line from Sheffield FC. It was 1-1 at half-time and proving to be quite a match.
The second half started as dramatically as the first, with Frickley’s no 8 snatching a goal almost immediately from the restart to make it 2-1. Sheffield looked determined to get back on terms, forcing a save from the Frickley keeper, and then inexplicably heading over with the goal gaping. They couldn’t quite find the goal they needed. Frickley then extended their lead with an inswinging left-foot shot flying into the top corner of the net. 3-1 and the Frickley fans began sharing an amusing range of chants – 1 nil and you fucked it up…It seemed almost certain to end in Frickley’s hands, until the 81st minute when Sheffield FC converted a penalty to make it a nervous finish for the team in blue. Then on 85 minutes, Sheffield FC grabbed an equaliser to make it 3-3, making great contact with a header from a corner which flew into the net. My first Sheffield Senior Cup final was heading to extra time! Almost as soon as the thought had crossed my mind, the 4th official held up the board signalling 5 minutes of injury time. This was an open game and anyone could score now. So it proved, with Frickley surging forward and no 12 scoring a late injury time winner just in time to win the cup. According to Wikipedia, they’ve now won this competition 12 times (dating back to 1978-9), level with Worksop, and only 2 behind Sheffield Wednesday. Given the entertainment at this match, I just might come back next year to see if they can make it a lucky 13.
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