It was to be a replay of the inaugural playoff in 2011 where the Tigers defeated the Warriors 5-1 to return to the top flight for the first time since 2005. 

TFFC enjoyed a two season stint and then were relegated in this fixture at the end of last season by the Port Saints 3-1. 

Wingham on the other hand won only twice in 2014 in the FMNC Premier League First Grade and so were condemned to take on the Tigers in this match. 

The Tigers looked to play a possession based game from the outset but it was Wingham who forced their opposition keeper into action first with a long range free kick well saved by Curtis Jones. 

From then on throughout the first half it was longer periods of possession play from the Tigers interspersed with counter attacks from Wingham. 

As the Tigers became more confident Jake Camilleri and Dylan Nash began to get in behind their wide markers more and more and Camilleri delivered a great ball across to Jack Yeates who missed narrowly from close range. 

Wingham had another scare soon after as a clearance from Castro in the Wingham goal hit Yeates and almost found its way into the back of the net. 

Despite their dominance though, chances were few and it took some great goal keeping from Jones in a one versus one situation with Wingham’s Mitch Bevitt to keep the scores level. 

The second half saw the Tigers exerting more pressure and with several good scoring chances left untaken. 

Eventually, Camilleri was brought down in the box and a penalty awarded at around the 50 minute mark. 

Corey Nash, who had an absolutely outstanding game, confidently stepped up but Castro guessed correctly and kept the game scoreless. 

Nash ran himself into the ground as he and Tigers skipper Jason Ward dominated the midfield, with strong defensive work backing up some very clever passing. This dominant play was earning the Tigers the occasional free kick, and pin-point accuracy from Andrew Couch found the head of the irrepressible Yeates, who headed over the advancing keeper to put the Tigers 1-0 up with around 20 minutes to play. Wingham mounted a comeback of sorts, but crucially missed what should have been a simple finish at the back post. They were made to pay by Camilleri, who was found upfield by a great clearance from Jones, and outpaced two defenders to drive what looked like the final nail in Wingham’s coffin. 

True to form though, teams from Wingham are known for their fighting spirit, and with little more than a minute to play they were awarded a penalty of their own, which Bevitt despatched past Jones to make the score 2-1. Obviously the Tigers were in no hurry to take the kick off, and the final whistle blew shortly after, with the Tigers running out winners 2-1. 

The game saw many standout performances, none more so than Matt Scarff, who defended tenaciously all game, and made tireless overlapping runs as he and the superb Dylan Nash made life very difficult for Wingham’s right side. Scarff singlehandedly managed to snuff out a couple of dangerous situations for the Tigers, and challenged hard for every ball. Mitch Minors was exceptional in his very demanding number 10 role, with a tireless effort that typifies this talented player. Jack Yeates terrorised the Wingham defence, never allowing them to settle and driving the Tigers from the front. 16 year old Jake Camilleri played well above his years, and senior players Dave Hardy and Peter Goonan gave towering performances to keep Wingham’s attack at bay, and see the Tigers safely back into Premier League for 2015.