23 Parachute Engineer Regiment dominate to win back-to-back Army Challenge Cup titles
The 23 Parachute Engineer Regiment have retained their title at the 124th Army Major Units Challenge Cup after a dominant 5-0 thrashing over 1 Regiment Royal Horse Artillery.
Playing at Winchester FC, in the middle of a UK-wide heatwave, the decision was made to push kick-off back by 30 minutes to give the players every chance of playing in the best conditions, with water breaks every 15 minutes.
The Sappers got the first dibs in the opening two minutes, with skipper Liam Silver striking the ball into the back of the net and catching the Royal Horse Artillery by surprise to gain an early lead.
The Gunners got the early wake-up call that no-one ever wants, but it certainly put them into the right gear as they began to pick up the pace.
Their chance came when they were awarded a penalty kick after Deylon Henry was being held onto by James Thomas whilst the ball was at play inside the penalty area.
Captain Ferdinand Mills stepped up to take the penalty – but as his strike sent the ball too far to the right, it was a missed opportunity for 1 Royal Horse Artillery to level up in this first half.
After the first drinks break, the momentum seemed to have swung back towards the Sappers – and after minutes of looking threatening, Jordan Nicholls finished with a brilliant goal to extend their lead to 2-0.
23 Para RE were carrying their momentum well ahead of half time – with Ashley Tandy almost scoring their third, but sending the ball wide.
The Sappers carried their momentum into the second half. Tandy's right-hand cross caused a scrap inside the box, but Nicholls was there to pick up the pieces and score his second goal, expending 23 Para RE's lead to 3-0.
Growing in confidence, Tandy was down the right hand side again and his cross then found the feet of substitute Martin Bolstridge, who tapped in for the Sappers' fourth goal.
The Gunners were now chasing a 4-0 lead, which to many will have looked unassailable for them to chase down.
With 10 minutes left on the clock, the Gunners got their first chance in a while as Deylon Henry took a shot on goal, but a deflection from the crossbar put the ball straight back to the feet of the Sappers.
Bhuwan Thapa's right-hand cross was timed perfectly to end up to the feet of Nicholls, who took his shot to score his hat-trick and extend the Sappers' lead to 5-0.
But just when you thought the Sappers were done – they had another trick up their sleeve. Their favoured right-hand cross came from Robert Grover this time, meeting perfectly with the feet of Bolstridge to score his second goal.
The sound of the full-time whistle confirmed what everyone already knew: a 6-0 win for 23 Para RE means they win the Army Major Units Challenge Cup for the second consecutive year – the first time a team has won back-to-back titles since 1 Battalion Royal Yorkshire Regiment did so in 2017 and 2018.
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