The fourth Max O'Connell Cup was another great occasion for the Max community who came to play or watch football and see old friends.
This year there were a few more babies and a few more new faces in amongst the regulars. The sun again shone down on this bitter-sweet occasion that mark's another years passing without Max.
West Hampstead deservedly won (4th year in a row!), but not before being pushed right to the limit in the thrilling 3-3 semi-final where an own goal helped them come back from 3-1 down in the second half. Once they drew level a single goal in the penalty shoot out was enough to get them to the final: a shoot out noted for containing 5 spectacular saves between the two keepers before the ice-cold winning penalty from Leon.
Queens Park had a shaky group stage and got the better of one penalty shoot out to get to the quarters before luck deserted them and they went out to Scott Nelmes (Salusbury Old Boys) in their second penalty confrontation despite a much improved display.
Scott Nelmes had a fantastic debut tournament making it all the way to the final before the heat and injuries meant they had little left for the final against the fittest team in the tournament. Newcastle finally lived up to their billing as contenders making it the semis before their lack of a single substitute was exposed and fatigue got the better of an otherwise strong outfit.
The groups proved testing and rewarding for the rest of us almost as much as the the cold beers, home cooked pizza and endless supply of fruit. It was a measure of the quality of this tournament that every team except The Brass Nanans got at least one win - The Brass Nanas however can claim for Goal of the Tournament from Callum.
A special thanks to Louis who's organisational skills meant the day ran as smoothly as it did, to the rest of Queens Park for chipping in, to the mums and parents for supplying such stellar catering (especially those cold beers - Max really would be proud of that), to Remel for running the bar, to Dave Ferguson for another T-shirt that doesn't let anyone forget that Max used to be called "Ducky", and to everyone else who came and played and watched and continues to help keep Max's spirit close.
There are a few photos below but if you have any more please post them or check out Facebook - Leon Nelson has a great set of pictures, and captions, that tell the story.
See you next year.
