Senior Cup final explodes into late late action as Falmouth find double whammy

Cornwall Senior Cup final
(at Underlane, Wendron United FC)
Falmouth Town 3 St Austell 2 (aet)

Falmouth Town ended a successful season on an incredible high and condemned St Austell to a heartbreaking finish by scoring twice in the final minutes of extra time to clinch the Cornwall Senior Cup.
The Lillywhites could almost feel the prestigious trophy in their hands as the final entered the 120th minute with them leading 2-1.
Suddenly mayhem broke out among the Falmouth supporters in the 1,004 crowd as wing back James Swan smashed a loose ball into the net from close range.
Thoughts of a penalty shootout were quickly swept from the mind as Falmouth launched a final attack in the second minute of time added on at the end of extra time.
There was chaos in the penalty area as St Austell desperately tried to clear but the ball fell to Luke Barner, who forced it over the line to spark incredible scenes.
As the St Austell players slumped to the ground – many of them probably wishing it would swallow them up – Falmouth’s players, officials, substitutes and their supporters celebrated an astonishing comeback.
It has to go down as one of the most dramatic finishes to a Senior Cup final in the competition’s 131-year history.
For Andy Westgarth’s Falmouth side it was the icing on the cake after last week clinching promotion to the Southern League through the Western League play-offs.
For Chris Knight’s St Austell, it was a hurt which will drag on for a while, but the Lillywhites will emerge next season as a Western League club for the first time in their history, having won the South West Peninsula League title a fortnight ago.
Both clubs have done Cornish football proud this season and have plenty to look forward to when the madness starts again in August.
Congratulations also to Wendron United FC, a small club tucked away between Falmouth and Helston, who normally attract crowds of around 150 to their Underlane ground.
This time a thousand supporters turned up and the club handled the occasion brilliantly. Facilities were first class and the pitch was in a much better condition than most would have expected after the wettest of winter and spring weather.
Because of the dramatic finish to the game, few will care to remember that most of the final was a cagey, relatively dull affair with only a handful of chances.
It was a lively start, though, with Falmouth pouring forward and going close twice inside the first eight minutes with efforts from Luke Brabyn and Cam Hutchinson.
But from their first attack St Austell took the lead after 13 minutes with classy midfield man Henry Wilson curling a 20 yard right foot shot into the left corner of the net.
Their advantage lasted only nine minutes as former Camelford favourite Hutchinson was in the right place to finish off after Luke Barner’s close range shot was blocked by keeper Andy Collins.
The first half developed into a tight battle and the pattern continued after the break with the teams largely cancelling each other out.
So to extra time and within five minutes St Austell found a goal from nowhere as prolific striker Adam Carter, who had hardly featured, held off a defender and thundered a right foot shot into the net off the underside of the bar.
Having played with an injury concern, Carter was then replaced by Liam Eddy, who kept the Falmouth back line occupied with his darting runs.
The final seemed to be meandering towards penalties when, very much out of the blue, it exploded into action. And the rest is history.

Falmouth Town
1 Morgan Coxhead
2 James Swan
3 Brad Leivers
4 Andreas Calleja-Steyne
5 Tom Annear
6 James Ward (capt)
7 Luke Barner
8 Andy Elcock
9 Luke Brabyn
10 Cam Hutchinson 
11 Jared Sims 

Substitutes 
12 Jack Webber (A Elcock 76)
14 Max Everall
15 Kian Thomas (C Hutchinson 73)
16 Tom Fisher
17 Charlie Edney (L Brabyn 80)

Goals
Cam Hutchinson (22)
James Swan (120)
Luke Barner (120+2)

Yellow cards
Luke Brabyn (45 minutes)
Andy Elcock (60)

St Austell
13 Andy Collins
2 Jake Shaw
3 Martyn Duff
4 Henry Wilson
5 Olly Brokenshire
14 Tom Whipp
7 Neil Slateford (capt)
8 Matt Searle
15 George Marris
10 Adam Carter
11 Jake Miller

Substitutes
12 Tom Guest (M Duff 112)
6 Harvey Hann
9 Liam Eddy (A Carter 96)
16 Kieron Bishop (G Marris 78)
17 Noah Teagle (M Searle 101)

Goals
Henry Wilson (13 minutes)
Adam Carter (95)

Yellow cards
Olly Brokenshire (39 minutes)
Henry Wilson (58)

Match Officials
Referee: Rowen Clarke
Assistants: Steven Godfrey, Dan Bennetts
Fourth official: Steve Swan

Attendance: 1,004

Men of the Match
Falmouth – Luke Barner
St Austell – Henry Wilson 

Falmouth Town celebrate with the Senior Cup.

Cam Hutchinson celebrates his 22nd minute goal.

Arms and the men at a Falmouth corner.