The Colts conjured up a last-gasp turnaround to rival Manchester United’s in the 1999 Champions League final to claim the considerable scalp of Salisbury City Youth in the Wiltshire County Under-11 Cup.
The first-round draw had hardly been kind to the Colts ahead of their debut in the competition as they were handed a lengthy 90-minute journey to the very south of the county to face opponents who until recently played in the Junior Premier League.
Only ten boys were available for the half-term fixture, with influential keeper Max among the absentees, but Colts produced a brilliant, gutsy performance and carved out chance after chance.
But after failing to convert all but one of them – and having a goal disallowed – the visitors appeared to be heading out of the competition at the first hurdle when they trailed 2-1 with 59 of the game’s 60 minutes completed.
Step forward Toby. With the Colts committing more and more men forward in search of an equaliser going up the Redlynch slope, it finally arrived when George sent over a cross from the right and the left-winger converted it with his head at the far post to send the travelling army wild.
Extra-time loomed but Colts had their tails up and won the ball back from the restart. Bradley fed Toby on the left of the area and he was felled by a rash tackle on the byline. The referee pointed to the spot and the ice-cool Toby crowned an electrifying second-half display by firing a confident penalty to the Salisbury keeper’s right (see above video) to put the village side through to the second round at the expense of their city counterparts.
While it was clinched in dramatic fashion, a fantastic win was no more than Colts deserved on both the balance of play and goalscoring opportunities.
They made the better start going down the slope as Brandon H, Matthew – who left the field at one point with blood pouring from a cut lip – and George knocked the ball around well in midfield and created openings for dangerous strike duo Liam and Brandon M, whose tricks and flicks had the Salisbury defence on its toes.
Bradley’s thunderous, rising effort from distance was somehow clawed away from the top corner by the Salisbury keeper and Toby’s corners caused a series of problems.
Brandon M broke the deadlock when he forced the ball home from close range, assisted by George after keeper Luke’s accurate kick had set up another attack.
Salisbury are a strong side, however, and had hit the bar themselves before the opening goal. Their fast breaks and good movement kept determined defensive trio Callum, Tom and Bradley busy throughout, with Luke providing a very safe pair of hands behind them.
He could do nothing to prevent the equaliser, however, as a ball in behind the back-line found Salisbury’s dangerman and he finished in style from outside the box.
Having enjoyed the advantage of the slope in the first half, the Colts seemed to have left themselves with a bit of a mountain to climb as they turned around at 1-1 but again saw plenty of the ball inside the home penalty area.
Toby had a fierce shot beaten away after a mazy run from Liam, while Matthew and Brandon M were also denied by brave saves. Matthew thought he had made it 2-1 when he netted from another Toby corner but the man in the middle took play back to allow the hosts to make a substitution.
A foul on the edge of the box gave Salisbury a chance but Luke was equal to a powerful free-kick that beat the Colts wall. Although he and Bradley did their best, neither could prevent the home side’s second goal, which came after the ball rebounded kindly to one of the forwards.
It knocked the wind out of the Colts’ sails and Salisbury threatened to take the tie out of their reach with a couple of efforts that went wide, with Tom and Callum doing well to keep clear-cut chances to a minimum.
With Liam out of the forward line after taking a nasty blow to the back, the flow of Colts chances appeared to be drying up.
But there was still time for a glorious late twist in the tale.
It wasn’t a game many who were there will forget in a hurry, no matter what else the cup brings this year, and a remarkable success again illustrated what an exceptional group of lads the club is blessed with at under-11 level.
MOM: Toby.

A dramatic Wiltshire County Cup contest gets under way at Redlynch