Blackburn Rovers (Sally Moon) 1-2 Tricky Trees (Alex Iskandar Liew)

In the end, it all came down to the width of a post.

The drama raged long before kick-off when both finalists nominated a 2-1 win for Portsmouth and, remarkably, they chose almost identical times for the time of the first goal – Suffolk-based Sally went for 22 minutes and Kuala Lumpur dweller Alex took a chance on 23 minutes.

Sally had one-and-a-half hands on the sparkling trophy when, in the 22nd minute of the final, Nwankwo Kanu wrong-footed a statuesque Cardiff City defender, rounded shot-stopper Peter Enckelman and hit the post with a tame effort. In the blink of an eye, Blackburn’s unbelievably precise grasp on the trophy disintegrated, and with Kanu’s 37th-minute winner, Tricky Trees claimed the prize as the Forest fan more accurately matched the time of the first goal.

As the Blackburn players sank to their weary knees at the final whistle, jubilant Tricky Trees manager Alex said: “It’s incredible what a difference one minute makes in the nutty game of football. One moment of sheer brilliance and we’re walking up the steps of Wembley.”

“A well-fought final and a worthy winner,” added a sporting Sally. “I can’t pretend I wasn’t prematurely punching the air when the rogue Nigerian hoofed it goal-wards in the 22nd minute – but that’s over-confidence for you!”

Congratulations Alex! Enjoy your year as holder of The Predictorship Cup.

The Predictorship Cup Roll of Honour

2005-06 - Millwall (John Collins)
2006-07 - Sheffield Wednesday (Janet Jones)
2007-08 - Tricky Trees (Alex Iskandar Liew)

Cup Final Fact …

In the 2007-08 season, Portsmouth won all 22 games in which they scored first.