23/02/2026
The Grid crash out in another quarter-final after a dominant display that ultimately wasn’t enough.Facing opposition from a league above, The Warriors controlled the first half but found themselves 1–0 down against the run of play. A route-one ball forward — a big kick from the Smith Skips keeper — was misjudged with a missed header and some poor communication at the back. The ball fell kindly to their big striker, who finished coolly.
The grid reduced to 10 men for 10 minutes, rida who never gets carded, simply saying shouting ref found him in the book. The official was giving them out like it was still Christmas, but it didn’t affect our game. The response came just before the break, with rida coming back on, with a superb team goal down the left-hand side. The move started with , then a flick from Gian involving and and was beautifully finished by Rida to make it 1–1 at half-time.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with The Grid dominating possession but failing to test the keeper enough, with 2 good chances fired over the bar. Smith Skips retook the lead through a stunning 30-yard strike from an unlikely super sub off the bench. They then extended their advantage to 3–1, another substitute capitalising on a couple of fortunate bobbles before finishing low and hard.The Grid pulled one back with 12 minutes to go, threading the ball through to “The Beast” to give The Warriors hope. Smith Skips were reduced to 10 men late on, but despite the pressure, it just wasn’t enough.
A huge opportunity missed to reach another final in only our second season — and one that will sting.
Man of the Match: Aldred Page for his relentless, positive work up and down the right flank.
We wish .c all the best and are sure we’ll see them again next season.
