Brent 1-3 Barnet
Middlesex Schools’ FA, Watkin Cup, 12th November 2016
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Brent suffered a narrow defeat at Northwick Park in an action-packed Watkin Cup match against league leaders Barnet.
The home side scored a contender for goal of the season when Brandon Njoku out-sprinted the Barnet defence to unleash a thunderbolt from 25 yards into the top corner after 15 minutes to give Brent the lead.
The Brent boys threatened to over run Barnet in the early exchanges, while Schadrac Kweme, making his first start in goal for Brent also played well. The hosts played some flowing football, building from the back but couldn’t find the net.
Two quick goals from a physically imposing Barnet side put Brent on the back foot and the half ended with the visitors 2-1 ahead.
Brent introduced Stanley Willis to shore up the defence and the QPCS student made an impact as Brent started to edge their way back into the game. Jhamar McDonald broke from midfield to release Njoku but the keeper saved well. Then Marcel Baumard fired past the Barnet keeper into the net but the effort was ruled out after touching a player in an offside position. Albi Alexander was a constant threat as Brent sought a way back into the game.
It looked like Brent’s effort would be rewarded when Alexander cleverly slipped the ball to Njoku with only the keeper to beat and but Njoku elected to shoot rather than square the ball to the unmarked Alexander and the chance was lost. Brent fought bravely to the final whistle but a goal on the counter-attack goal finally put the game beyond them and Barnet took the points 3-1.
Brent coach Chris Ampofo observed after the match: “The players worked their socks off and deserved something out of the game today. They played some good football. I am very proud of them. They work hard in training and are improving with every game. ”
Brent: Albi Alexander, Marcel Baumard, Stanley Willis (QPCS), Schadrac Kweme, Kofi Appiah (Capital City), Jhamar McDonald (JFS), Zakariya Zak (Kingsbury), Rishan Herath (capt), Bradley Morrison, Rafi Amblin (Claremont), Ricardo Welsh-Huggins (Ark Elvin), Brandon Njoku (Preston Manor)