Brockenhurst beat Hamble Club on penalties to lift Russell Cotes Cup

Hampshire FA Russell Cotes Cup Final
Brockenhurst FC 4
Hamble Club FC 4
(Brockenhurst won 5-3 on penalties)

AFTER a thrilling 4-4 draw with Hamble Club, Brockenhurst won a penalty shootout to lift the Russell Cotes Cup at the Meadens Skoda Arena last night (Tuesday).

The Badgers took a two-goal lead twice in the match, but the Monks showed fine resilience to battle back each time, with their last-gasp equaliser coming despite having only 10 players on the pitch.

However, once the match went to spot-kicks, Patrick McManus's men showed impressive composure, slotting five unsavable penalties with keeper James Mayo saving one.

The young Badgers squad, which contains 15 players under 21, came under pressure early on, with Hamble creating the best chances. Despite this, Brock's top-scorer Silvano Obeng buried his side's first chance in the 17th minute.

Ten minutes later, Mitchell Speechley-Price doubled the advantage after calmly sending Ash Donns the wrong way from the penalty spot.

Hamble continued to play well, and Lewis Nagle and Jamie Ovington scored two goals in two minutes to level the match going into the break.

Both sides came close early in the second half, but Obeng restored his side's lead after superb work from right-back Conor Ings.

Drama followed for Hamble when goal-scorer Ovington received a red card before midfielder Kieran O'Donnell put the Badgers 4-2 up with a 71st-minute strike.

However, the Monks refused to give up and narrowed the deficit in the 85th minute through Kelvin Robinson before Charlie Wagstaff hit a last-gasp 96th-minute leveller to force a shootout.

The Badgers buried all their penalties thanks to nerveless efforts from Obeng, Speechley-Price, Matt Sheedy, Adwell Chipangura and keeper Mayo.

After the match, Brockenhurst manager Patrick McManus said: "I thought Hamble started far brighter than we did and although we went two-nil up, being pegged back by half-time was probably a fair reflection of the first 45 minutes.

"Losing another two-goal lead in the second was extremely disappointing, but credit must be given to Hamble Club as they were incredibly resilient and refused to give up.

"Ultimately, five unstoppable penalties from us and one penalty save from James Mayo proved to be the difference.

"From a Club perspective, it's great to finish with a trophy that completes the goal we set ourselves in July, in addition to a top-six finish.

"Recruitment will start now as we set our sights higher for next season."

Brockenhurst: J. Mayo, C. Ings, A. Chipangura, D. Panesar-Dower, J. Chamberlain, B. Magookin, K. O'Donnell, A. Haynes, S. Obeng, C. Ward, M. Speechley-Price. Subs: B. Dukes, N. Frans, J. Stacey, G. Pomeroy, M. Sheedy.