On a cold Monday night in January Crabtree Property and Seddons kicked off a charity encounter that marked an end to over two years of non-competitive football for the Finchley based firm. The proceeds of sponsorship for the match would go towards victims of Hiati earthquake appeal with players from both sides also making donations.
After a late kick off it was Seddons who came out guns blazing. A couple of stray passes from the home side allowed the Seddons to penetrate the backline, with Mark Standing hammering home the second of two early goals for the visitors. Crabtree stuck at it however and began to step up their game accordingly.
In the period that followed Joe Mallon pulled back a goal for Crabtree after some good interplay from John Osborn and George Georgiou led to a scrappy goal-mouth scramble with Mallon nutmegging the oncoming keeper. Substitute Bobby Shah levelled for the home side soon afterwards with an audacious lunge in the penalty area. More goals from Nadeem Ghous-Chaudary and Joe Mallon followed before Seddons pulled it back to 4-3.
The game was won at this stage with Luke Cunningham and Andy Soteriou suring up the Crabtree defence and picking out passes for playmaker George Georgiou and warrior John Osborn to feed attack after attack. Cunningham continued to organise the defensive ranks throughout the tie with iron grit. Throughout the game Goalkeeper Rob Robertson had complete command of his penalty area, bravely going to ground on a number of occasions and pulling off a string of impressive saves.
Mike Babb was on form for Crabtree, scoring a hat-trick overall, the pick of the bunch coming in the latter stages of the first half. More excellent interplay from Cunningham and Georgiou allowed Babb to finish with a trademark top corner emphatic finish from just outside the box. Crabtree finished the first half in form and in control of the game, leading by seven goals to three.
In the second half Seddons tightened up their defences and made things more difficult for the home side. Mark Standing was a handful and broke the backline to score twice more while Daniel Robins worked tirelessly for the visitors.
It was to be Crabtrees night however with Nadeem (The Flaming Goose) Ghous-Chaudary completing his hat-trick and Bobby Shah finding the net again for a double. A late consolation for the visitors was testament to their fighting spirit and all ended on positive note with good sportsmanship all round.
Crabtree Team: Rob Robertson, Andy Soteriou, George Georgiou, Luke Cunningham, Bobby Shah, Mike Babb, Nadeem Ghous-Chaudary, Joe Mallon, John Osborn
Man of The Match: Luke Cunningham