Hunts Senior Cup Final (played at St Neots Town)
ST NEOTS TOWN 2 ST IVES TOWN 2
(St Neots won 6-5 on penalties)
Ever since COVID St Ives had dominated the Huntingdonshire Senior Cup competition winning the trophy on three consecutive occasions but St Neots put an end to that run as they triumphed in a penalty shoot-out after a thrilling 2-2 draw. It was St Neots 39th victory in the competition but their first since 2014 – when they defeated St Ives! Since then, there had been just two semi-final meetings of the two sides in the competition, both won by St Ives who had gone on to lift the trophy on each occasion It was an excellent match which came to a climax in the final eight minutes with three goals and that dramatic penalty shoot-out. The crowd of 557 witnessed skipper Robbie Parker lifting the trophy for St Neots for the first time for 11 years amidst noisy celebrations and now St Neots must refocus on picking up enough points from their remaining five games to crown the season with promotion to Step Four.
Ever since COVID St Ives had dominated the Huntingdonshire Senior Cup competition winning the trophy on three consecutive occasions but St Neots put an end to that run as they triumphed in a penalty shoot-out after a thrilling 2-2 draw. It was St Neots 39th victory in the competition but their first since 2014 – when they defeated St Ives! Since then, there had been just two semi-final meetings of the two sides in the competition, both won by St Ives who had gone on to lift the trophy on each occasion It was an excellent match which came to a climax in the final eight minutes with three goals and that dramatic penalty shoot-out. The crowd of 557 witnessed skipper Robbie Parker lifting the trophy for St Neots for the first time for 11 years amidst noisy celebrations and now St Neots must refocus on picking up enough points from their remaining five games to crown the season with promotion to Step Four.
St Neots began brightly with Harvey Williams twice getting free to provide crosses that failed to find colleagues in front of goal. St Ives then saw a free kick rebound from the crossbar and after a quarter of an hour St Neots created two chances – the first a free kick from Kieran Barnes that was deflected wide by a defender and the second bringing a full length save from Charlie Bowen by St Ives keeper Dan Wilks. As the contest moved towards half time Johnson Gyamfi saw a close range shot for the visitors blocked by a St Neots defender whilst at the other end a Michael Amaeshike header from a Sam Willis cross was comfortably gathered by Wilks. Then three minutes before half time St Neots took the lead when from a Willis corner Charlie Bowen (left) netted from close range to put the hosts in front.
St Neots began brightly with Harvey Williams twice getting free to provide crosses that failed to find colleagues in front of goal. St Ives then saw a free kick rebound from the crossbar and after a quarter of an hour St Neots created two chances – the first a free kick from Kieran Barnes that was deflected wide by a defender and the second bringing a full length save from Charlie Bowen by St Ives keeper Dan Wilks. As the contest moved towards half time Johnson Gyamfi saw a close range shot for the visitors blocked by a St Neots defender whilst at the other end a Michael Amaeshike header from a Sam Willis cross was comfortably gathered by Wilks. Then three minutes before half time St Neots took the lead when from a Willis corner St Neots continued to be in the ascendancy after the break and Williams shot across the face of goal after beating his marker and a shot from Bowen following a Barnes free kick was deflected for a corner.
With a couple of substitutes introduced St Ives adopted a more attacking approach and after a slick move George Munday fired disappointingly over the St Neots bar. The game now became very competitive as both sides resorted to a more combative mode and St Ives committed to outright attack were rewarded with just eight minutes remaining when they were awarded a penalty tucked away by Will Glennon to level the scores. St Neots response was swift and concise when three minutes later Amaeshike set up Rhys Thorpe (above right) for a goal that should have sealed the result for the home side. However, St Ives were not finished and a minute into added time George Munday sent the match into a penalty shoot-out with a finish from a narrow angle.
With a couple of substitutes introduced St Ives adopted a more attacking approach and after a slick move George Munday fired disappointingly over the St Neots bar. The game now became very competitive as both sides resorted to a more combative mode and St Ives committed to outright attack were rewarded with just eight minutes remaining when they were awarded a penalty tucked away by Will Glennon to level the scores. St Neots response was swift and concise when three minutes later Amaeshike set up The first ten penalties were netted but then Kieran Barnes put his penalty over the bar and Ethan Creary missed the chance to win the game for St Ives. Connor Furlong scored a sixth penalty for St Neots, but Claudio Dias hit the bar with his and St Neots had triumphed by 6-5 to lift the trophy.
Tonight’s Saints Supporters’ Man of the Match – in association with The Greystones Public House Sawtry – Charlie Bowen
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