French set up Kentish Cup showdown against UKAF with last-minute victory over Dutch
The French armed forces have overcome their struggles to narrowly beat the Dutch armed forces 2-1 in their Kentish Cup tie in Slough.
It was a clash in which both teams found themselves in an uphill battle and, at times, unable to capitalise on the other team's mistakes.
Following a heavy 3-1 loss to the UK armed forces in the opening match, the Dutch needed a big win against the French in order to stay in contention.
The French showed their depth in the midfield and dominated ball possession in the opening minutes of the first half, however they were failing to capitalise on their chances inside the penalty area and missed several shots on goal.
Their frustrations continued well into the first half, but with minutes to go before half time, a cross from Riotteau Baptiste found the foot of Remi Custodio to score the opening goal of the match.
At half time, the French were up 1-0 up over the Dutch, but there were many missed chances in that first half for the French side to chew over in the changing room.
But the French troubles inside the penalty area continued with more misses in the second half.
The Dutch seized the opportunity to capitalise on the French struggles, and a chance to level up came when substitute Sven Boer intercepted a cross from inside the penalty box to score the Dutch's first goal to bring the score level to 1-1.
A motivated Dutch side and a frustrated French team then tried to find a way out of the deadlock they found themselves in as the game began to reach its climax – but to no avail.
But in injury time, a corner kick awarded to the French was the lifeline that they needed, and substitute Ladislas Douniama headed the ball into the net to score the winning goal.
As the full-time whistle sounded, the French armed forces celebrated a 2-1 victory over the Dutch armed forces – a result that sees the Dutch officially out of the running for the Kentish Cup title.
The French will move on into the final game of the Kentish Cup, where the title will be decided in a winner takes all against the French armed forces and the UK Armed Forces – streamed live on the BFBS Forces News YouTube channel on 31 October from 13:45 UK time.
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