Amesbury Town Go Close But Fall Just Short In Wiltshire Senior Cup Final

Amesbury came close to causing an upset in the Senior Cup Final against their higher ranked opponents but Downton won the cup for the third year in a row with a penalty shoot out win following a 1-1 draw at Bemerton Heath Harlequins. Amesbury had the better chances during the game and the gap between the two sides league status was not obvious during the match.

Amesbury's first effort came early in the game for ex-Downton striker, Robbie Owen. His shot was saved by Will Betts who got behind the ball well. Joe Smith then had a chance to put Downton ahead when he latched onto a pass by Tom Rafferty. It looked like he might have been offside but he fired over the bar anyway. A long Amesbury throw was helped on to the back post and Ben Morris got a touch but a Downton defender cleared off the line. It was then Amesbury’s turn to clear off their line from a Shaun Prentice header. Amesbury's top scorer Josh Moore tried a spectacular overhead kick which Will Betts brilliantly tipped over the bar as the sides went in goal-less at half time.

Early in the second half Amesbury lost possession and Joe Smith ran on goal but fired over under the strong presence of Amesbury skipper Jack Vallis. It was just after the hour mark that the two goals came, Shaun Prentice gave Downton the lead, squeezing the ball home after Amesbury keeper Mike Horne had brilliantly pushed Lee-Bradley Haensel's shot onto the post. Amesbury equalised five minutes later when a long clearance eventually found Ally McCracken who fired home.

Amesbury looked to cause an upset.Josh Moore set up Robbie Owen who fired just over, Jack Langdown’s long range effort went just wide and in added time a great ball by Moore found Ben Morris on the right but he took too long and saw his effort cleared off the line to Moore who only managed a tired follow up shot. Full time 1-1.

And so it went to penalties with Downton scoring all four of their spot kicks while Amesbury unfortunately missed their first two which saw Downton win 4-1 to take the trophy back to Downton for the third season running.

Amesbury Manager Robbie Skeates said “I genuinely felt we were the better side and more than showed we can compete with a very good side in the league above. I hope this gives us momentum for the business end of the season but very proud of my boys tonight, Congratulations to Downton”.

Amesbury’s final home game is on Saturday, 4 May, against Kingsdown at 3 pm.

For the latest news...

Posted: 12 April, 2024