With the tournament now into the real serious stage, this game got off to an incredibly nervous start. The Premier players were visibly nervous and hardly got into LE's half of the field in the first half, leaving just one man forward. The entire first half was mostly a midfield battle, with neither team willing to risk anything at the back. LE got a few shots on target, but nothing to really trouble the keeper, and the teams went in all square at half time.
In the second half, Premier came out with a much more positive attitude and played to their formation, with 3 men up front. It paid dividends in the 54th minute, when veteran striker Linden Crossley headed home from a Slim Whitman cross. The Premier fans were ecstatic and their enthusiasm almost carried the Premier to another goal soon afterwards. Premier kept attacking, and LE were on the back foot for most of the rest of the game, and with the seconds ticking away on the clock, Premier had one foot in the World Cup final.
But LE hadn't given up. With just 60 seconds left on the clock, LE knew it was do-or-die time, and pushed everybody except their goalkeeper up front. Premier had no choice but to pack their goal area with 11 men, and desperately blocked the shots coming in. With the clock now showing 90 minutes, LE midfielder David Cox smashed a shot against the Premier crossbar. The ball fell into the box and a desperate scramble ensued. Jon Gee blasted the ball straight at Premier defender Royston Tomlinson on the Premier line, who collapsed in a heap but the ball fell kindly to LE defender Hugo Reimer who bundled the ball over the line with his knee.
Tomlinson wasn't the only Premier player on the deck at this point, as the referee blew the whistle to signal extra time. The Premier players looked distraught and it took manager Wayne Smith several minutes to get his exhausted players back on their feet. Conversely, the LE players were buzzing and desperate to get back on with the game.
There could now be only one winner. LE began playing some wonderful passing football, and the Premier players looked tired and clueless. It wasn't long before LE took the lead, striker Brian Palmer driving home a powerful shot from outside the box.
It was enough to secure victory. Premier looked too tired to carry on, even with their full complement of subs on the field, and LE dominated the rest of extra time.
The final whistle blew, and Loxley Elite became the first team to enter the Soccer Star World Cup finals.
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