Stadium MK, the home of League 1 side MK Dons, was the stage for the 2017 Boodles ISFA Cup final on the evening of Monday the 20th of March. Millfield School and Royal Russell School went head to head for a chance to lift the prestigious and historic ISFA Cup, under the instruction of top Premier league referee Martin Atkinson.
Both sides started the game positively, moving the ball well across the pitch, with a high tempo from the off, adding to the already electric atmosphere in the stadium.
The first clear cut chance fell to Millfield, following a phase of good play down the left hand side of the pitch. Millfield’s striker shot just wide, narrowly missing the far post from a tight angle.
In the 26th minute Royal Russell drew first blood, taking the lead through some excellent play including a threaded through ball from Matt Weller finding Rhys Norrington-Davies on the left who put the ball into a dangerous area. Unable to deal with the delivery, the ball was deflected in by a Millfield defender.
Millfield didn’t let their heads drop and reacted well with some promising attacking play. In the 30th minute the Millfield left midfielder put in a great cross which was headed on target from close range. Russell keeper, Lochlan Greenwood, did exceptionally well to keep the ball out but the Millfield forward pounced on the rebound, slotting it in to the bottom left corner to level the score.
In the second half Royal Russell started brightly once more, controlling much of the possession and setting the tempo in the opening minutes and it didn’t take long for them to break down the Millfield defence. A great driving run from Princewill Ogunmekan finished with a great through ball to Russell forward Ross Obazee, who skillfully cut back on to his right foot in the penalty area, beating the defender and rifling in to the top right hand corner.
Once again, Millfield came back with some promising attacks and chances but the Royal Russell defence remained impenetrable, managing to keep the opposition out for the remainder of the game. As the final whistle blew, Royal Russell achieved a 2-1 victory, winning their first ever ISFA Cup title.
We would like to say a huge congratulations to the school, staff and players on this tremendous achievement and wish Royal Russell good luck in defending the title next year!