Cascadia coach James Nichols was very proud of his players, staff and fans
Photo: Ali Gilmore/Prost Amerika
I’m So Proud of My Cascadians
by James Nichols, Head Coach Cascadia
Reflecting back on the ConIFA World cup, I can safely say I am proud of our achievements. Eight weeks before the competition commenced we had no players on the roster, no training venues sorted and no team jerseys. To finish in 6th place in the competition, losing out narrowly to Panjab for 5th place, considering our starting point is a minor miracle.
The players deserve a huge amount of credit. Despite the vast majority playing with jet lag for the first few games, we gave a competitive performance against Ellan Vallin. Although a 4-1 reversal, it set the building blocks for our continued improving performance throughout the tournament.
For our training session before the first game, we deliberately picked a venue, Barnet FC, which required the players to walk to so that we could get them talking and introducing themselves to each other. The players received their squad numbers in front of each other.
We gained our first international win against Barawa, the hosts of the competition, where the players’ desire and commitment was tested but they triumphed to put us within touching distance of the quarter finals. At the end of the game Josh Doughty was on the end of a punch from an opposition player and to a man, the whole squad gathered around Josh to protect him.
This was a sign of the togetherness that this group of players were starting to form. A number of players took the team bus to watch the game at Wembley that afternoon where England were playing Nigeria. One who didn’t was forward Calum Ferguson who was left behind at Carshalton, the bus having left without him. No player ever admitted that his loud Scottish accent and possible consequent enthusiasm for the Nigerian effort might have been the reason to shake him off!
Captain Cascadia James Riley played a crucial role in adding professionalism on and off the field to a squad who just met the day before their first game
Photo: Ali Gilmore/Prost Amerika
Going in to the final group stage we faced Tamil Eelam, believing a win would see us through as we expected Ellan Vannin to keep theior 100% record against Barawa. Even if they drew, we would just need a draw to go through.
Barawa scored just before half time. At half time we revealed to the players that to guarantee our progression, we therefore needed to win by a six goal margin. Five would be enough only if Barawa went 2-0 up.
The players remained patient and eventually our quality shone through, with four goals in the second half to add to the previous two, the last in the 88th minute.
The quarter finals unfortunately was as far as we were to go where we were beaten by the champions Karpatalyja. On another day I feel we could have won, having had some fantastic chances early on to take control of the game.
We followed this up with a win against Western Armenia and a draw against Panjab, securing 6th place due to a shoot out loss. The players’ spirit, commitment to the cause and morale was fantastic and a big tribute must be made to the men who put their bodies on the line for a common cause with men they had met just 24 hours before the tournament started.
A lot of the time spent together during the tournament was waiting for the elevators in the team hotel! Some of these players have massive futures in the game and hopefully will continue to represent Cascadia Soccer however, Tayshan Hayden-Smith’s music choice needs revisiting before any future call-ups.
Throughout the competition, our captain, James Riley was fantastic.
Offering advice on and off the pitch as well as providing the players with nutritional information to prepare professionally for upcoming games. This was vital for players with six games inside 10 days.
Stuart Dixon’s scouting work was crucial
Photo: Ali Gilmore/Prost Amerika
My staff worked incredibly hard during the tournament, away from the matches and training they were often working 18 hour days, Alex Moore (physiotherapist) has postponed a surgery on a painful ankle to work for Cascadia, even treating players in their rooms despite his immobility. Ironically Alex picked up the worst injury of the tournament, tripping over a bag!
The other coaching staff (Shaun Gardner and Stuart Dixon) watched every other game in the tournament so we were aware of the strengths and weaknesses of opposition.
CAFF President Aaron Johnsen organised the trip and we became close friends during the tournament. Although the job was incredibly difficult at times, Aaron did everything he could to ensure that Cascadia succeeded on the pitch, by clarifying rules, ensuring that schedules were followed also including footing the large bill for laundry during the tournament. Team Cascadia has a bright future as long as Aaron remains involved.
The squad was occasionally and only semi-jokingly referred to as ‘the House that Jack Built’. I first spoke to Jack Thorpe after accepting the position as head coach. We had long discussions about players and if it had not been for Jack, I feel we may have struggled to achieve the quality of squad that we did. Jack works for Wolverhampton Wanderers and has fantastic contacts and knowledge of players. He became a Cascadian fan during the process (I heard him leading the chants at one point) and it’s a major coup that he wants to continue to help with player recruitment going forward.
The last people who deserve a mention are the fans. Our fan base at games grew significantly with each game played and the players and staff appreciated the vocal support greatly. It was fantastic to see supporters placing their faith in a fantastic bunch of players who gave their all for the Cascadian cause and the social media support was phenomenal.
Cascadia fans came in all ages, and taste in hats!
Photo: Steve Clare
It would be a dream for this team to play in front of our own fans in Cascadia so that more people can watch as the games in London weren’t at particularly spectator friendly times for the folk at home.
If anyone can achieve that dream, those who made 2018 possible, can.
