Army Air Corps win their first Football Challenge cup
18 Apr 08
An Army Air Corps Regiment has for the first time ever won the Challenge Cup Final, the annual showpiece of the Army Football calendar.
SSgt Wally Wallbrook of 9 Regt AAC celebrates the first of his two goals against 3 YORKS
[Picture: MOD]
81 Army unit teams took part in this year's competition and the 107th final of the event's history was contested by 9 Regiment Army Air Corps (AAC) from Dishforth in North Yorkshire and 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment based in Warminster.
Held at the Aldershot Military Stadium both units enjoyed plenty of support, 3 YORKS providing six coaches full of soldiers and 9 Regiment bussing and flying more than 100 of their people down the A1 for the day. It was a hard fought match played with a competitive spirit and contested fiercely throughout.
Throughout the first half there was very little to choose between the teams with few chances being created. The breakthrough came after 30 minutes when a sustained period of pressure resulted in a mistake by the 3 YORKS defence, pounced on by Airtrooper O'Neil, who fired the ball past a stranded goalkeeper.
Only 10 minutes later the second goal came from the persistence and commitment of the AAC centre forward SSgt (Wally) Wallbrook, the Regiment's PT instructor. From fairly close range he was able to give 9 Regiment a comfortable lead at half time.
For the first 20 minutes of the second half, 3 YORKS applied relentless pressure but to no avail; and the Army Air Corps started to control the match.
Sgt Coghlin and Capt Dave Sharples (Team Manager)
[Picture: MOD]
The large crowd was in full voice by now and the banter between both sets of fans was impressive. 3 YORKS continued to press for a goal but were caught on the break and conceded a third, again scored by SSgt Wallbrook, effectively sealing the win for 9 Regiment Army Air Corps.
It is the first time in the Challenge Cup's long history that it has been won by an Army Air Corps Regiment.
Challenged by repeated player absences caused by the Regiment having had simultaneous squadron deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq for most of this season, 9 Regiment's Captain Dave Sharples (also their Career Management Officer) was over the moon:
"The boys have really worked well together as a team through the league and qualifying games on the way to this big match. It was a dream to be playing here at Aldershot in front of such a good crowd and to come away with this trophy is fantastic."
The Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Neil Sexton, was equally delighted:
"With all of our commitments to operations the football team has had to overcome countless obstacles on their way to this afternoon's victory. It was a great game and they really deserve to be in the limelight as the first Army Air Corps football champions of the Army. There will be some significant celebrations among the players tonight."