FC Porto of London 3-0 Sue's Angels FC, 17 May 2026

Sue’s Angels Fall Short in Dylan Rigobert Trophy Final

The weight of that scoreline – 3-0 – will sit heavy on Sue’s Angels FC for a while yet. Not because the defeat stings any less, but because it arrived in circumstances that felt almost cruelly constructed to maximise the sting. On 17 May at Robert Parker Stadium, in the club’s first ever cup final, the boys found themselves on the wrong side of fine margins and moments of misfortune that, on another afternoon, might easily have gone the other way.

FC Porto of London take the Dylan Rigobert Trophy home. That’s the plain fact. But it doesn’t tell the story of how we got there, and this story matters because it shapes what comes next.

The XI rolled out in a 5-2-3: Luke Munns in goal, Michael Brabrook at left wing-back, Alfie James Inman, Daniel McLane and Jim El Bayati across the back, Stewart Luwawa and Andrew Allen in midfield, Jon Lloyd and Frazier-Isaías Osunkoya in the ten spaces, and Stephen Potter leading the line. The bench held Jeev Thilaganathan, Kieron Horrill, Danny Jackson and Samakab Nur – a squad ready to chase the game.

Sue’s Angels started with real control. Osunkoya came closest early, crashing a volley from outside the box against the post – a moment that deserved to be a goal and probably felt like one for a fraction of a second. Potter had a couple of good openings too as we built our way into the match, moving the ball with intent and purpose. We were the better side in those opening exchanges. Anyone watching would have had us down as favourites. Then, against the run of play, Porto struck from outside the area. The goal fell like a trap sprung by someone who’d been patient and coldly efficient. Worse followed almost immediately. A quick-fire second, and suddenly we were chasing 2-0 at half time despite large spells of positive play. It’s the sort of scoreline that can deflate a dressing room, but our lot came back focused and determined to find a way back into the game.

The second half began with real pressure. We pushed forward looking for the momentum to turn. And we got it – in a crowded corner situation inside the box, a foul was given. Penalty. A lifeline. Andrew Allen stepped up and struck it cleanly, but the Porto keeper had it read. Save. That’s a moment. That’s a turning point some teams never recover from, because the very next phase of play should have brought us another chance to reset our nerves. Osunkoya drove down the wing moments later, was fouled in the box, and we had a second penalty. Another lifeline. Osunkoya took this one and the keeper saved again. Two massive opportunities squandered in the space of a few minutes. You could feel it draining – the momentum, the energy, the sense that the game might still be ours to win. That’s when finals are decided, in those narrow windows where teams can either wrest control back or watch it slip away entirely. We watched ours slip.

With about twenty minutes remaining, while we were still pushing forward looking for that breakthrough, Porto cleared defensively and their winger latched onto the loose ball. He ran through into a one-on-one with Luke, and in that crucial moment our keeper slipped. It was the sort of misfortune that can haunt a player, but Luke had been solid throughout. The ball rolled into an open goal and made it 3-0. That was the match.

Fine margins. Missed opportunities. A moment of simple misfortune. That’s the narrative the coach put plainly, and it’s an honest one. We created chances – more than enough to win a cup final. We didn’t take them. Porto did. That’s football. That’s Sunday League football, where margins are narrower and luck matters because there’s no margin for error.

This is Sue’s Angels’ first season as a club, and they’ve reached a cup final. That’s not nothing. The lessons here are valuable ones about execution, about converting pressure into goals, about how fine the line is between celebration and heartbreak in knockout football. There’s no shame in losing like this – only in the feeling that it could have been different. And that feeling, properly channelled, is exactly what builds sides that come back stronger.

Porto deserved their trophy. They were efficient when it mattered. But both sides will meet again, and next time Sue’s Angels will be wiser for this afternoon’s experience.