Kent Merit Under-18 Boys Cup Final: Cray Wanderers 3 Kings Hill 1

Cray Wanderers produced a brilliant footballing display to win the Kent Merit Under-18 Boys Cup Final over a spirited Kings Hill side on Sunday.

The Wands looked right at home on Whitstable Town’s 3G surface as they passed the ball for fun, showed great movement and in hat-trick hero Michael Ihiedi, they had a striker who was able to convert their dominance into goals.

Many of the side were beaten in last season’s final by Rusthall, but they certainly made up for it second time around.

Cray manager Nick Desanges said: “It’s very special. I’ve been doing this for 10 years, I’ve still got a couple of boys that have played for me since they were six.

“We’ve had a good season but had a few wobbles lately so I wasn’t over-confident but I really enjoyed it.

“I was the under-16 manager last year and I came to watch that final, Rusthall were excellent in that game. I knew I had the squad this year and the experience as some of the second years were part of that.

“I played on that a bit with them and told them they had a second chance and this was their day.

“We’ve had a tough draw, we’ve knocked some really good teams out so we’ve done well.

“I told Michael before the game that he’s a focal point to the team. He’s a quiet softly-spoken lad but he was fantastic. He led the line well and I’m over the moon for him.

“Oli Chiriseri in centre-midfield was unbelievable, he broke everything up and was our glue. Our two centre-halves were excellent and so was George Brooke, especially in the first half.”

Cray went close on 12 minutes as Samuel Robinson drove into the box and set up George Brooke, whose shot was brilliantly parried over the bar by keeper Lucas Brookman.

Kings Hill’s Fin Mulcahy was fouled as he went through on goal after