D & P Copperpot triumph in Chris Shyne Trophy Final

D amp; P Copperpot picked up their second piece of silverware of the season as they added the Chris Shyne Trophy to the Lancashire Sunday League Trophy they won recently.

In difficult conditions with persistent driving rain, D amp; P's greater fitness was enough to fight off a spirited attempt by Success to the Plough as the game was won in extra time.

In the first half of the game Success to the Plough were the better of the two teams and, without ever really threatening the D amp; P goal, had the lion's share of possession.

The first real goalmouth action, after a scrappy opening 15 minute midfield battle, came when Chris Kershaw fired in a long range shot from outside the D amp; P penalty box that was easily dealt with by D amp; P goalkeeper, Milner. The ball came straight back from Milner's clearance and Palineko tried another punt from long range, but shot a yard or so wide.

With Success continuing to press for the opening goal, D amp; P hit on the break, against the run of play, and with Davey Luker clean through on the Success goal he was brought down by Andy King - penalty!

Davey Luker took the penalty himself, but it was a poor attempt and easily saved by Charlesworth.

The game became bogged down in midfield, with neither side able to create much in the way of clear cut openings.

It was close to the half-time whistle when the next chance came, Kristen Evans found himself clear on the edge of the D amp; P box - with team-mates queuing for a cross he overran the ball, much to the relief of the stretched D amp; P defence.

The last action of the first half saw Success again pressuring the D amp; P goal as Matt Jackson put a good cross into the D amp; P box to find Chris Kershaw. Kershaw's looping header was easily dealt with by Charlesworth in what was a microcosm of the first half, Success to the Plough controlling the game, playing well in midfield, but without any real penetration, meaning realistic goal scoring opportunities were few and far between.

With the second half barely minutes old, D amp; P opened the scoring. Anthony Luker found Davey Luker lurking on the Success six yard line and he made no mistake with his hard low drive.

As is often the case, the goal lifted the scoring side and for the first time in the game we saw some real pressure from D amp; P, however, Ian Kershaw, commanding the Success back line, was resolute and within minutes Success were back up the other end of the field and levelling the score. A quick break ended with Simon Riley being pulled down. Matt Jackson's excellent free kick was heading for the top corner but Milner managed to tip it round for a corner. From the corner, the shortest man on the pitch, Success wing back, Carl Dawood, scored with a free header from close range.

Cue another period of Success pressure, and it almost paid off when a long range shot from a free kick by Chris Kershaw looked easy for Milner to deal with, however, he let it through his hands and was very fortunate to see it rebound off the bar straight back to him.

Success had another chance to take the lead after 65 minutes when a good move between Simon Riley and Chris Kershaw ended with a poor attempt by Danny King, when he should have at least got his shot on target, if not scored.

Into the last quarter of an hour and D amp; P finally began to put together the fluent football they are well capable of and put the Success back four under sustained pressure. Time after time though Ian Kershaw was the man who broke down the D amp; P moves and D amp; P, despite their good approach work, were forced into speculative shots from outside the box, Davey Luker hitting one straight at Charlesworth, Nick Dowsing hitting a better shot that was well saved by Charlesworth and Michael Barker's goal bound shot well blocked by Ian Kershaw.

D amp; P continued to apply the pressure with the minutes ticking down, John Luker literally placing the ball on the head of colleague Anthony Luker with a pinpoint 30 yard cross, but Anthony Luker could only head tamely straight to Charlesworth.

A succession of corners followed as D amp; P probed for the opening that would give them the winning goal. Three times they used the same tactic of pulling the ball back from the corner to a man lurking outside the Success box, three times Success failed to pick the man up, but three times the shots went well over.

With two minutes to go Phil Prescott played a good ball to Jason Kay, but from close range he was well shepherded by Charlesworth who forced a quick shot from Kay that he turned away for a corner.  From Trevor Jepson's corner, and with under a minute to play, substitute striker Dave Walsh, should have won the game for D amp; P but glanced his header just wide with Charlesworth beaten. In truth that would have been a travesty, for all the D amp; P pressure in the final quarter of an hour, Success to the Plough did enough to deserve extra time and some would argue enough to win the game. And win it they almost did with the last kick of normal time; a quick break ended with a free kick that Kristin Evans tried to cheekily lob over Milner in the D amp; P goal, but was well over.

The first half of extra time effectively ended the game as a contest. D amp; P had ended normal time well on top as their clearly superior fitness began to tell and the tireless running of the Success midfield during normal time saw their legs becoming heavy and their previously excellent movement laboured.

Within two minutes of the first period kick off, Chris Cooper advanced to the half way line with the ball and played it down the line to substitute Chris McCarroll whose cross found Dave Walsh in acres of space just five yards out and he promptly despatched the ball into the back of the Success net to give D amp; P the lead.

Midway through the first period D amp; P went two up when a Chris McCarroll corner found Michael Barker whose well placed header left Charlesworth with no chance.

Into the second period of extra time and it was all D amp; P now; give credit to the Success players their heads never dropped, and they never stopped working for each other, but they were clearly spent and D amp; P were in command.

The fourth D amp; P goal was not long coming, by now dominating in midfield and spreading the ball around almost at will, playing probably their best football of the game, they probed patiently for an opening until finally they found Dave Walsh in the box. Three Success players crowded Walsh as he tried to make space for a shot, however, though clearly reluctant, Walsh finally crossed to Nick Dowsing in plenty of space on the other side of the goal and he took one touch, steadied himself and then picked his spot to make it 4-1 to D amp; P.

D amp; P pressed for more and it came as a complete shock when completely against the run of play, Success managed to pull one back. Matt Jackson rounding two D amp; P defenders to give Chris Kershaw an easy chance from yards out, and he made no mistake.

The goal, as is often the case, put new life into the tired Success legs and they rallied well as they went in search of a third to try and set the game up for a nail biting finish. It was not to be as D amp; P withstood the few minutes’ pressure before hitting on the break to put the game beyond any doubt when a cross from Davey Luker found Walsh who got the goal his lively display since coming on as a substitute deserved.

Final score:

D amp; P Copperpot 5 - 2 Success to the Plough

Man-of-the-Match:

Ian Kershaw, Success to the Plough