French Armed Forces brushes aside UKAF to win the Kentish Cup
The French Armed Forces are taking the Kentish Cup back to France following a thumping 0-2 victory over the UK Armed Forces in Slough.
It is the French's first Kentish Cup victory since 2022, which they also won on UK soil on points difference.
A new-look UKAF team, who've won the last two Kentish Cup titles, struggled to overcome a well-organised French side and a late penalty awarded to the French was curtains on winning the triple.
Amidst a deluge of rain at the start of the match, the French looked right at home and dominated ball possession, but much like in their game against the Dutch, they were struggling to capitalise on their chances.
UKAF, on the other hand, found themselves chasing from behind and were having to dig deep to get a foothold on the game against a well-organised French side.
After Sam Dawson was taken off with a suspected injury, UKAF were forced to switch to a back four and from there, the team began to find their rhythm and gain ball possession.
But after injury time, the scoreboard remained 0-0 at half time and the fight for the Kentish Cup title was still wide open.
As the teams returned for the second half, both continued to search for a breakthrough. But as the rain began to clear and the pace of the game began to pick up, a goal seemed inevitable.
And that goal came at the 60-minute mark, with Antony Robic taking his chance at the edge of the box and striking gold – the ball hits the back of the net with UKAF goalkeeper Loz McCormick having no answer to the Frenchman's strike.
With the French now in the driving seat with a 0-1 lead, UKAF were now in a race against the clock to avoid losing the Kentish Cup title they won in 2024.
A strike from Elliot Holmes from 25 metres out was as close as UKAF got to scoring a goal in the second half, but the ball went over the goal, and UKAF were still trailing behind the French.
But disaster struck for UKAF in stoppage time, when French player Antony Robic was downed inside the box and the French were thus awarded a penalty.
Ladislas Douinama took the penalty, and knowing it was over for UKAF, McCormick did little to block Douinama's strike, and as the ball hit the back of the net, the French team immediately began to celebrate a 0-2 victory.
The French triumph in their first Kentish Cup win since 2022, as a new-look UKAF team looked on as they face the reality of losing on home soil.
Join Our Newsletter
