We've won the cup!
11:16am Wednesday 4th April 2001
Kevin Impey reports on Hayes School's remarkable success on three sporting fronts .
A brilliant opportunist goal set Hayes School's senior football team on their way to a superb 3-1 win against Wilmington Grammar in the final of the Kent Under-19 Cup.
On a pitch that was just about playable, after all the recent rain at Bromley Football Club's ground in Hayes Lane, the local team was awarded a free-kick close to Wilmington's left-hand corner flag.
Ian Fieldwick stepped up to take the kick and the other players on the pitch looked as if they were expecting a
“regulation” cross.
But Ian had other ideas. Taking a quick glance, he then curved his shot into the top right-hand corner of the Wilmington net.
Hayes, having survived a Wilmington onslaught, started to counter-attack and the pacey Paul Nevard then latched onto the ball after a poor pass in midfield before his cross was headed in by Matthew King.
After the interval, Wilmington piled on the pressure and they eventually pulled a goal back when Jon Pendrich scored with a David Beckham-style free-kick curling the ball over Hayes' defensive wall and into the net from 25 yards.
Wilmington, previous winners of the cup, now attacked in numbers in their quest for an equaliser, but their upfield raids meant leaving gaps at the back.
Eventually, Hayes capitalised on the extra space they were by now enjoying to clinch the game when Tom Cornish scored his side's third and cup-clinching goal.
It was a great way for Hayes to finish the season, having also played magnificently to reach the last 16 of National Schools' Cup.
And to round off a great sporting success story, there were victories for the school's girl basketball squads as both the under-13 and 14 girls won the Kent Cup, beating Cornwallis and Cranbrooke respectively.