Coen Townsend was representing Kent Invicta at the Knighton IO in the beautiful Welsh hills, a favoured hunting ground for Kent Invicta players who have enjoyed great success at this tournament in the past.
OPEN competition
In the group stages Coen was drawn against Phil Dacey and Tom Taylor. First up was Phil, who Coen has faced a few times before. Despite slowly finding his form during the game Coen lost 0-5, which is an improvement on previous encounters with the Welsh International.
Coen at Knighton I.O. versus Phil Dacey.
Next up was the veteran Tom Taylor. Coen made a remarkable start in this game, scoring an amazing goal straight from the kick off, which included 16 touches before a beautiful chip over the goalkeeper. Coen dominated all through the first half and was justly rewarded with a second just before half time. In the second half he was camped in his own half but managed to hang to take the game 2-1, which took him through to the barrage.
Coen at Knighton I.O. versus Tom Taylor.
Coen at Knighton I.O. versus Tom Taylor.
The Irishman Mark Farrell now stood in Coen’s way to a place in the quarter finals. Coen wasn’t given much of a chance going in to this match, but it wasn’t long until he had his opponent sweating. Another swift start in this match meant he had Mark on the back foot, forcing several good saves from his goalkeeper. The game then evened out and seemed to be heading for sudden death and shots, until Mark scored the winner with less than a minute left.
'Beavington' team competition
The ‘Beavington’ team event which was run as a friendly addition to the main competition was greatly enjoyed by all and certainly added to the atmosphere on the day.
It would be nice to see some other event organisers attempt to run something similar in the future.
Format for the 'Beavington'.
Players were split according to rank and ability into three pots, Good (weakest seeds), Bad (medium ability) & Ugly (strongest players). Players were then randomly picked from each pot to make up a team of 3.
Knighton I.O. winners
Open : Kasper Bennett
Veteran : Justin Finch
U19 :Elliot Bellafontaine
Next time...
Next up for Kent Invicta TFC:
Northern Circuit Team Tournament in Lincoln, followed by trips to Glasgow Scotland I.O, Jemelle, Belgium I.O Leicester I.O.
This is a great build up for the World Cup in Manchester, where Kent Invicta TFC will have 10 players in action for England !!
