FOOTBALL

At the 27th minute mark, Hampton made their first substitution, which proved to be a gamechanging move. They brought on Fifth Year Josh King, the talented young footballer from Fulham and England’s U16 national team. His exceptional skills on the field during the ESFA Cup run had earned him the nickname ‘English Pirlo’ among the Hampton fans.

Minutes after King’s substitution, some silky dribbling by Wilson, combined with his rapid speed, enabled the play to reach the opposition’s box. After Wilson lost the ball through a slide tackle challenge, King seized the opportunity. Pinching the ball off the toe of Coombs, he effortlessly skipped past two defenders and slotted it home - Hampton secured a commanding two goal lead.

The scoreline now at 2-1, Shrewsbury were back in the game!

Facing a setback, Hampton responded, establishing longer spells of possession and pushing Shrewsbury back into their own half. Everything was still to play for as the game progressed to its final stages and looked set for a nervy finish. However, Alex Di Soccio had different ideas.

The ball broke in midfield for newly substituted Ben Walker, who played a crisp left-footed ball in behind the Shrewsbury defence. After a dummy from Wilson, the ball fell to the feet of Di Soccio who faked right, then left to lose his defender before striking it home past the flailing left arm of the Shrewsbury goalkeeper.

Hampton strode out for the second half, knowing that a mere 45 minutes of football stood between them, and a second ESFA victory in four years. Backed by a loyal legion of travelling fans, both sides restarted with intensity, nobody daring to shy away from the significance of such an occasion.

Shrewsbury, however, were desperately in need of a goal to reignite their hopes and found exactly that from their captain. From centre-back, he drove forward before hoofing the ball, from 35 yards out, over the head of Knight.

The Hampton faithful erupted and Di Soccio was crowded by his teammates as the First XI restored their two goal cushion entering the final 10 minutes of the game.

The same defensive solidity, ever present throughout this season’s ESFA campaign, did not ease when most needed as the game was seen out without further goals. As the final whistle blew, the team sprinted over to the travelling fans to celebrate together, capping a remarkable end to an incredible season, in what will have been for some of the squad, their final game for Hampton.

BY HARRY MCLUSKY