Pinchbeck United 3
Godmanchester Rovers 3
(Godmanchester win 4-2 on penalties)
It was penalty shoot-out heartbreak for Pinchbeck United in the Hinchingbrooke Cup final on Wednesday night after a thrilling battle against Godmanchester Rovers.
The Knights made a dream start and raced into a 2-0 lead inside 16 minutes thanks to goals from Ollie Maltby and Alex Beck, but were denied what looked a clear penalty when the score was 0-0.
Having missed chances to extend their lead, Pinchbeck were made to pay by Jack Chandler’s 43rd-minute penalty to give Rovers hope of a second-half comeback.
And that they did, with Chandler nodding the Thurlow Nunn League high-fliers level on the hour, before Micky Hyem lashed them ahead 17 minutes from time.
Ian Dunn’s Knights, who played really well on the night, dramatically levelled matters four minutes from time when Lee Beeson’s inventive cross found the far corner to make it 3-3 and force penalties.
It wasn’t to be for Future Lions UCL Premier Division side Pinchbeck, however, with misses from Maltby and Stacy Cartwright allowing Godmanchester to win the shoot-out 4-2 and lift trophy for the first time.
Deflated player/boss Ian Dunn felt his Pinchbeck side were the better team on the night, but admitted that they missed the chance to kill the game off during a dominant first 20 minutes.
“I knew that we needed a third when we went 2-0,” admitted Dunn. “I knew how good they can be – so when they started to play a bit I knew they’d cause us problems.
“The start was almost too good to be true, but a third goal would really have put them to bed.
“Their penalty just before half-time was a big turning point and made the next goal massive.
“Their equaliser then came out of nowhere really. I think they had four or five shots all game, so we got punished for our mistakes.
“If we’d have punished all of their mistakes, we could have scored five or six goals.
“It was also a tale of two penalty decisions too, I suppose. I did feel that we had a very good shout for a penalty early on before the goals came – and I don’t see the difference between that and the one they were given.
“They were big calls. Ours was at 0-0, so did it have a big impact on the game? You never can tell, but it was a big decision that went against us.
“But, we allowed them back into a game that we should have killed off. They got that goal before half-time and we let them back in.
“We showed great character after going 3-2 down to get back into it and, at the very end, I felt we looked like the side who was really going for it to try and win the game.
“I felt we always looked like the team more likely to score, but they probably got goals against the run of play to stop us in our tracks.
“I think that, when we look back on the game, we’ll think we could probably have done better with all three of their goals.
“On the bright side, I thought we were perfect in the first 20 minutes and, to a man, we were all ten out of ten.
“Everybody did their job, but it was just unfortunate that we didn’t put the game to bed.
“I’m very gutted, at 2-0 I can’t say we had one hand on the trophy, but we had so many chances.
“We’ve said this all season, but when we’re on top we need to be better at punishing teams.
“At 2-0, I was thinking we should have been 4-0 up. Everyone was getting giddy on the bench, but I always felt we needed more – and so it proved in the end.
“To lose on penalties is tough, but it’s a lottery.
“But, if you take a step back, we’ve taken a team that finished third in the Thurlow Nunn League all the way, been on top and looked like scoring more goals all night.
“We were probably the better side on the night, but essentially three mistakes have cost us.”
Pinchbeck started brightly, with Maltby involved in two major incidents inside the opening few moments.
First, he saw a close-range strike well saved by Rovers keeper Sam Palmer – who then appeared to bring the striker down inside the box a few minutes later, with the referee waving away Pinchbeck’s penalty appeals.
That man Maltby duly got his reward on nine minutes when he met a deep Luke Wilson cross in the centre of the box and planted his header into the corner.
With the Knights controlling the play, they should really have moved 2-0 ahead when Beck raced clean through soon after the re-start, but he fired his effort wide of the far post.
However, the frontman made no mistake on 16 minutes. After probing run, he ended up running onto his own pass before slotting a more clinical finish into the same corner he had missed moments earlier.
That seemed to wake Godmanchester up, as they set about turning the game on its head.
Hyem went within a whisker of pulling one back when his hooked effort came back off the bar, before Chandler and Charlie Bowen got in each other’s way when well placed.
They finally pulled one back just before the break, however, with Hyem brought down in the box by onrushing Knights keeper Ricky Lovelace.
Chandler grabbed the ball and expertly slotted the ball low into the bottom corner to set up an exciting second half.
Much like in the opening period, Pinchbeck started much the better of the sides after the interval.
Maltby had a fine strike ruled out for offside before Jordan Nuttell saw a sensational long-range strike tipped onto the post by the fingertips of Sam Palmer.
That man Maltby was then guilty blazing the ball over from the edge of the box with the goal gaping following a tackle on the Rovers keeper.
Then, out of nowhere, Chandler headed Godmanchester level with a fine back-post effort across the despairing dive of Lovelace on the hour.
Some 13 minutes later their comeback was complete as the ever-dangerous Hyem found a yard of space in the box and drove a low effort into the net to put Rovers ahead for the first time on the night.
Pinchbeck refused to lie down and accept defeat, though, and duly levelled four minutes from time when Beeson’s expert cross with the outside of his boot beat everybody and ended up in the far corner.
There may have been a touch from a defender, but the winger claimed the goal.
Lovelace had to pull off a big save in the dying seconds to deny Rovers a last-gasp winner, which would have been harsh on the Knights.
That set up penalty kicks, with Maltby (saved) and Cartwright (hit the bar) the unlucky Pinchbeck players to miss.
Lovelace did save Tom Spark’s spot-kick, but sub Russell Bull held his nerve to seal a 4-2 shoot-out success for Godmanchester.
It was a cruel way to end an excellent season for the Knights, but they played their part in an excellent final that will live long in the memory.
Knights: Lovelace, Wilson (Field 74), Cartwright, Shipley, Jackson, Vince, Beeson, Maltby, Nuttell (Edwards 79, West 90), Beck, Wright. Not used: Ross, Dunn.
