 Calm before the storm No, this is not a questionable style choice popular among German football fans, but rather a celebration of Denham United's victory in the Chairman's Cup, which they added to their already secured Division One North league title. Sunday at Scours Lane featured a double header. The Chairman's Cup Final kicked off at 11am, followed by the League Cup Final at 3pm. I had the pleasure of covering the first match between Denham United and Oxford City. The second match, between AFC Portchester and Wycombe Wanderers, was to be reported by Dave Reed (Wandering Tractor). Although they played in different divisions this season—something that would change next term after Denham's promotion—the Chairman's Cup finalists had already met this season in a thrilling FA Cup match at Marsh Lane that went to penalties. Denham had Chelsea-Rose Keary sent off before Oxford came back from 3-1 down, with Grace Craven scoring a 95th-minute equaliser to send the game to a shootout. Oxford edged it 5-3 but knew today's final would be tough.  Brogan Moore opens the scoring Some games start slowly and take a while to build up to speed. Not this one. Inside the first minute Oxford looked to attack down their left only for Denham keeper Zara Butt to coming racing out her box to win a 50/50 with Ellie Walecki, before blocking the loose ball with her hand. Freekick to Oxford on the edge and a yellow card for the United goalie. The blue wall blocked the free kick and, almost immediately afterwards, attention switched to the opposite end, as Denham launched an attack. This culminated in an attempt at goal being handled on the line. Penalty to Denham, and we still hadn't got 3 minutes on the clock. Brogan Moore (not Kayleigh Currivan, as I had mistakenly posted. Must get my eyes checked), calmly slotted home the spot-kick. 1-0 Grace Craven, wearing the captain's armband for City today, then went close with a volley after battling for the ball in the ball inside the Denham box. Two defenders then exchanged goal attempts. Amna Butt saw her header flash wide of Maskell's upright whilst, at the other end, Hermione Prescott-Luke's acrobatic effort posed little trouble for Zara Butt. The Denham goalkeeper was then called into action again on the quarter-hour when Billie Bough-French's stinging freekick was well dealt with by Butt. That save signalled something of a lull in goalmouth action as both teams took a bit of a breather on an increasingly warm morning. On the half-hour mark Bough-French pushing up from the back, sent over a very dangerous looking ball across the face of the Denham goal, but it was slightly too far ahead of City players coming in on the back post. It seems that Denham were going to go into the break with a single goal lead. However, that got better for them a minute into added time when Daisy Baranowski got clear on the left before delivering a low cross. Niamh Cashin timed her run perfectly to get in front of her marker and apply deft finish past Maskell. 2-0 HT Denham United 2 Oxford City 0. After a blistering start, the game was largely played in midfield on a dry and uneven pitch that was causing plenty of problems for both teams. Despite that fact that Denham had managed two goals, both defences were being marshalled very well. Billie Bough-French for City and Denham's Annie Hewitt, in particular, were having very solid games.  A dusty battle Kicking towards the car park end in the second half, Denham were first to show when Cashin was inches from getting a decisive touch to a corner inside the first five minutes. However, a couple of minutes later their defence, for the first time, allowed Ellie White some room which she took in some style, sending a glorious lob over Butt from well outside the box. 2-1 and game on. It was time for Denham to dig in now. Oxford were clearly going to throw everything at them. Denham's back four looked solid and with Niamh Cashin, who appeared to be everywhere in the second half, dropping into more of a CDM role when they were out of possession, they continued to restrict opportunities for the Hoops. Despite City’s efforts to equalise, Denham created the better opportunities and probably should have extended their lead. Special praise goes to City goalkeeper Kiera Maskell, who showed great bravery throughout the match. After receiving treatment in the first half, she was later hit on the head diving at Cashin’s feet. About 20 minutes from time, Maskell made a crucial save from a Liana Horwood cross, forcing Cashin’s shot wide but taking another knock. With no substitute goalkeeper available, this could have been a serious issue for City, but Maskell recovered and continued. In added time, Denham had a golden chance to seal the win, but Brogan Moore, usually clinical, shot over from six yards, possibly affected by a bad bounce. Deep into injury time, Denham’s keeper Zara Butt was forced to scramble and hold onto the ball as Grace Craven closed in, recalling memories of the last equaliser in the FA Cup. However, the referee soon blew the final whistle, confirming Denham’s League and Chairman’s Cup double. FT Denham United 2 Oxford City 1. Massive congratulations to Denham United who collected both of their trophies at the end of the game. An excellent season that is not over yet. They still have an opportunity to complete a 100% record in the league with three games remaining. That run starts this Tuesday evening when the face Ascot United Reserves at The Den. Commiserations to Oxford City who battled away against a strong Denham side and a pitch that was a million miles away from their home 3G pitch at Marsh Lane. For the second season running they fell at the final hurdle to teams from the division below them. However, they still have the opportunity of silverware when they take on Kidlington Youth in the Oxfordshire County Cup Final. A repeat of last season's final that Oxford won 4-0. Thanks to the Southern Region League for inviting me to pick player of the match for the final. It was quite a responsibility and a tough decision. In the first half I thought that the two key players were centre-halves. Billie Bough-French for Oxford and Annie Hewitt for Denham. There's no denying the energy and incessant work put in by Oxford's Grace Craven, who was still running flat out in the last minute. However, my choice in the end went to Niamh Cashin who appeared to be omnipresent in the second half, getting on the end of crosses one second and propping up the defence the next. Denham United: Z.Butt, Cox, A.Butt, Rragami, Hewitt, R.Horwood, Baranowski, Cashin, Keary, Moore, Currivan(c). Subs: Torr, Harris, Fletcher, L.Horwood, Barrell Oxford City: Maskell, Gorman, Bough-French, Prescott-Luke, Wellngton-Faissal, Lester, Craven(c), Walecki, Ayres, E.White, Harris. Subs: Parsons, Davis, O'Leary, L.White, Ranxha  2026 Chairman's Cup Winners On a personal level, it was wonderful to meet so many fantastic people from the Southern Region community throughout the day. The Wandering Tractor (Dave Reed) took over the reporting duties for the League Cup Final, which allowed me to relax and simply enjoy the game. You can find his match report here (SWRFL League Cup Final). Thanks to Mark Rozzier and the entire Southern Region League team for making both Dave and me feel so welcome (and thanks for lunch, everyone). Also, thanks to Andy Moore, Lisa Parrett, and the rest of the Denham United staff; Portchester's Mark Dugan; Wycombe photographer Andy Wicks; Beaconsfield Town's Mollie Haynes; most of the Oxford City squad who stayed to watch the second game; and, of course, Fiona and the excellent team at The Crossbar. I’m sure I’ve missed some people from this list, so apologies if I have.  Oxford acrobatics  Kiera Maskell makes another stop
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