Magpies just pip Crusaders

Maidenhead United were crowned Berks & Bucks Senior Cup winners in this 'much delayed' cup final having just held on to beat The Crusaders in a tight game at Arbour Park, Slough.

Both sides named strong teams and the game echoed the competitiveness of the respective 2016/17 league clashes. Hungerford started the game well and Louis Soares couldn’t quite adjust his feet to hit the target after good work by Nick Bignall, before the latter hit Maidenhead's crossbar with an effort from 18 yards in the first ten minutes. This let-off prompted a better spell from the Magpies and a succession of corners of which they would be rewarded. On 19 minutes Sam Barratt curled an in-swinging ball towards the front post which seemed to bounce off a combination of Hungerford goalkeeper Ward and Christian Smith, before Smith gratefully poked home at the near post. Carl Pentney then made the best save of the game to keep the scores level going into the break. A 30-yard free-kick took a deflection and the stopper was at full stretch to tip it over the bar.

With their 1-0 lead Maidenhead started to develop a stranglehold on the game, restricting Hungerford going forward. It should have been 2-0 and game over in the 71st minute but a melee of players attacking a Comley free-kick saw the ball go inches over. Hungerford then piled on the pressure for the remaining fifteen minutes, with long throws on the narrow pitch and a seemingly constant stream of free-kicks and corners. In an almighty goalmouth scramble, four efforts were fired at Pentney blocked by a variety of Hungerford and Maidenhead bodies with the final shot being heroically deflected by Pritchard on to the bar and away. Maidenhead then survived a very credible claim for a penalty when Pentney shoved Soares to the ground and this would not be the end of the drama as Maidenhead thanked the crossbar one more time after Comley inadvertently flicked goal bound over Pentney’s reach. Clerima then cleared an effort off the line from Day as time ran out for the desperate Crusaders.

Full credit to the players of Hungerford who can count themselves very unfortunate to lose the game and both sides can go forward to their respective 2017/18 campaigns with confidence.

Hungerford: Lewis Ward, Rhys Tyler, Paul Stonehouse, Matt Partridge, Matt Day, Callum Willmoth, James Clark (Ian Herring), Scott Rees, Nick Bignall (Luke Hopper), Warren Bentley (Tom Meechan), Louis Soares
Unused Subs: Mike Jones, Marcus Beauchamp (GK)

Mike Hall