Moulton Harrox 0
Pinchbeck United 1
A deflected Tyler Wright strike four minutes from time fired Pinchbeck United to ChromaSport PDFL President Premier Shield glory on Friday night as they edged out fierce rivals Moulton Harrox 1-0.
Wright’s 86th-minute strike was perhaps heading wide before Harrox defender Ashley Coddington deflected the ball past keeper Lee Kenealy at Stamford’s Zeeco Stadium – not that Pinchbeck cared one jot.
It was a fitting way to settle a scrappy final between the two South Holland sides, with Pinchbeck denying their neighbours a PDFL Premier Division and cup double.
Harrox ended the match with ten men as Ben Allen was sent off for a late lunge seconds before the final whistle – while defender Bobby Patterson was also dismissed after the game had ended.
Pinchbeck player/boss Ian Dunn always expected a tight clash, but he did feel his side did enough to merit the victory.
He reckons that winning the Shield felt better than when he steered the club to a Premier Division and PFA Senior Cup double in his first stint as boss – and paid tribute to the team spirit shown by his side at Borderville.
“I’m a bit lost for words if I’m honest,” said Dunn. “I’m absolutely over the moon that we’ve won this trophy.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game with not a lot of good football played – that much was obvious beforehand.
“Maybe we got a little lucky with the goal. If we’re honest, Tyler’s shot was going wide before it got a bit of a deflection.
“But I stand by what I said a few weeks ago; had we started the season better, I think we would have really pushed Moulton all the way in the league.
“Our finish to the season has been very good – and this really tops that off.
“Our form from August onwards has been absolutely superb. We had showed better form than Moulton going into this game and I think that it showed in the end, we were deserved winners.
“I think this does feel better than when we won the double a few years ago.
“I do think that this squad is tighter than last time and the team spirit is fantastic, we’re a really tight bunch of lads.
“It really showed in the game, every player worked for each other. I noticed they (Moulton) were arguing amongst themselves, while we were backing each other up
“We didn’t play as well as we could, but that team spirit has got us through.”
With the South Holland duo pretty evenly matched despite Moulton’s status as champions, it was no surprise to see the game play out as something of a stalemate.
The best chance of the first period fell to Harrox – who were missing ill top scorer Ollie Maltby – with Ian Bradbury forcing a smart save from Joe Ashton from relatively close range.
At the other end, Pinchbeck went close when Liam Ogden’s cross was hooked towards goal by player/boss Dunn. It looked to be heading for the far corner, but Tony Edwards inadvertently diverted the ball off target with his head.
The second period began with a spell of Pinchbeck pressure. Ash Murrell’s high ball into the box was spilled by a nervy Kenealy, but nobody in red was able to turn home the loose ball.
Harrox then did well to crowd out Dunn when he was given a whiff of goal on the left-hand side of the box, while at the other end Joe Townsend managed to wriggle free and get a shot away for Moulton, only for Ashton to save comfortably.
Pinchbeck then came within a whisker of opening the scoring when Edwards’ cross from the right hit the bar and dropped inside the six-yard box. Dunn attempted to collect the rebound but fell to the ground under a challenge. He was booked for perceived diving.
Townsend tried his luck from distance as Moulton enjoyed a period of pressure, but Ashton was equal to his low 20-yarder.
Ashton was again called upon moments later, as he clawed away a goal-bound cross from Harrox left-back Ainsley Johnson.
You sensed that extra time was looming when man-of-the-match Ogden lashed a 25-yarder just wide, but Pinchbeck thought otherwise as they grabbed an elusive late winner.
A positive run from right back Brad Murrell on the right saw his cross wreak havoc in the box. Dunn flicked it on and the ball eventually fell to Wright at the back post. He composed himself and rifled a low effort that looked to be going just wide of the target before going in via the boot of the unfortunate Coddington.
Pinchbeck had two big chances to double their lead in the dying seconds, too. First, Dunn rounded Kenealy way out on the right and slotted an effort towards the target – only for Phil Groves to clear off the line.
Kenealy then had to race back from the Pinchbeck box – after going up for a corner – to pull off a spectacular save to keep out Dunn.
The anticipated flashpoint followed, with Allen scything down Ogden for a red card in added time and Patterson dismissed for dissent after the whistle.
Neither mattered, with Pinchbeck having already done enough to collect their prize.
For Harrox chief Dave Panton, it was a tough loss to take. Be he chose to take the positives and reflect on what has been a superb campaign for his title-winning charges.
STEVE RELF
“Of course it’s tough to take,” admitted Panton. “We lost 1-0 to an own goal late on.
“To be honest, it was a typical snatch and grab last-minute cup final goal wasn’t it?
“I’m obviously gutted for the lads. I don’t think we played very well in the first half, the lads would admit that.
“But I thought we did a lot better in the second half and really raised our standards.
“It could have gone either way – but unfortunately it didn’t go our way on this occasion.
“The lads are on a bit of a downer after this result, but next week we have our presentation night and we’ll all be happy.
“We’ll have a big, big trophy to lift up then. It’s been a great season for us – we’ve won the league and got to a cup final in my first season here.
“You can’t win everything – football would be boring if you did.”
Harrox: Kenealy, Groves, Johnson, Coddington, Patterson, King, Townsend, Watkin, Bradbury, T Panton, Allen. Not used: L Steadman, Lambe-Hyner, Clay.
Pinchbeck: Ashton, B Murrell, Gardner, Brooks, A Murrell, Withers, Edwards, Bishop, Dunn, Wright, Ogden. Not used: Leggett, Sae-Be, Brown, Francis, Dickinson.
