FINALISTS!

Proud Baggies FC are in with a shot at more silverware, having beaten city-rivals Birmingham Blaze on penalties yesterday to reach the Pot 2 Final of the GFSN Development League.

PBFC won 2-1 at St George’s Park against Leicester Wildecats in the autumn, before losing 4-0 with a heavily-depleted squad to Village Manchester’s 5th team earlier this year. The result placed the Proud Baggies mid-table, teeing up a tasty derby game against Birmingham Blaze as the nine-team league split into three pots - the aim of which being to give teams more game exposure and to ensure fair challenges in the process.

Yesterday’s game got off to a bright start in the bright sunshine, with the Baggies matching Blaze’s 3-4-3 formation. An early breakaway saw former Blaze striker Ash Hill leave the Blaze defence for dead and coolly finish to make it 1-0 PBFC, but the visitors didn’t make it an easy contest; consistently pressing the Baggies midfield and forcing mistakes to have their own efforts on goal.

Goalkeeper Adam Ray - fresh from his Player of the Tournament award - pulled off some important saves during the first half, and combined with the defensive heroics of captain Tom Hogan and Kasia Krawczyk the Baggies kept Blaze from levelling the tie before the break.

A chance to breathe and reset seemed to do the trick for Birmingham Blaze however, and not long after the restart for the second half the side patiently worked their way through the PBFC lines to equalise from the edge of the box, with the referee ignoring protests from the Proud Baggies over a foul on Tom Hogan just inside the box.

Both sides battled away the remainder of the game but, with no winning goal to be found, the tie went to penalties. More heroics from Adam Ray, as well as crucial finishes from the likes of PBFC’s Dayle Kirby and Andy Bishop, gave the Baggies the win and secured a final away in London on May 16th against Eastend Phoenix.