THE 1996 GAME

England Hold On To Take Cup

ENGLAND 2 SCOTLAND 1
Shaw, Bray. Traynor

Al Ahli Stadium
4 April 1996

On a very hot afternoon England got off to a dream start in the opening minutes. Ian Shaw surged past Frank Brown and fired a vicious shot into the top corner of the goal.

Scotland began to settle and gradually pulled themselves back into the match and fully deserved their equaliser which came on ten minutes. Tom Proudfoot played a clever pass down the left to Zak McKniven who rounded Steve Reynolds and fired a a dangerous low cross into the area. Despite being tightly marked, Pat Traynor reacted quickly to steer the ball home at the near post.

England reasserted their authority and it came as no surprise when Mark Bray restored their lead with a deflected shot following a strong run from midfield. All the action was now centered around Scotland's goal but their defence held firm. Scottish hearts were in their mouths just before half-time when Sean Pearson headed in at the far post but the referee rightly disallowed for a push on Neil Duncan. The Scottish defenders were struggling manfully against both the English attack and the strong wind and were very relieved to the sound of the half time whistle.

Half-time: England 2  Scotland 1

The second half saw atransformation in the Scots with Haggarty, Pratt and Proudfoot industrious in midfield. On numerous occassions they looked to have at last breached the English defence only to see good scoring opportunities squandered. England, although they seemed quite happy to stay back and soak up the pressure were nevertheless very dangerous on the break. Dave craig was unlucky to see his shot fly narrowly past the far post, and then a brave save at the edge of the area by Scotland keeper Jim Manuel prevented Bray from increasing England's lead.

Scotland, were dealt a cruel blow when Steve Lewis was forced to leave the field with a serious leg injury. Having used their quota of substitutes they were reduced to ten men and Scotland's efforts looked to be in vain, particularly when Pratt and Traynor both missed golden opportunities in the dying seconds. The English defence marshalled by Mark Harding held firm to give them a victory that they just deserved.

England: Dunlop, Rowe, Harding, Reynolds, Parker, Brunt, Godball, Craig, Bray, Shaw, and Pearson.

England's Man of the Match was Ian Shaw.

Scotland: Manuel, Brown, Lewis, McCrory, Duncan, Haggarty, Pratt, Thomson, Proudfoot, McKiven, Traynor.

Scotland's Man of the Match was Bobby McCrory.