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Wells City FC win Somerset Premier Cup

Wells City FC win Somerset Premier Cup

Mark Read14 May 2016 - 00:00
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https://www.wellscityfc.org.uk

Larkhall Athletic 1 - Wells City 2

Wells City vanquished Larkhall Athletic to triumph in the Somerset Premier Cup final at Taunton and put their Western League heartbreak into the past.

City - who had lost out on the Toolstation League Division 1 title on goal-difference at the weekend - were under the cosh for the majority of the first half but went ahead through Ollie Bryant.

The Larks had only a Dean Griffiths equaliser to show for their dominance, with Wells grabbing a second through Lee Pitman after the break as they turned the game around.

And they would hold out to lift the trophy, making Larkhall the fifth higher-division side they had beaten on their run.

It was the Larks that controlled the opening ten minutes and had Wells keeper Will Justin scrambling when he could not corral a low Josh Egan shot that skidded on the sodden turf.

Ben Brooks' follow-up was cleared away from the goal-line by a covering defender.

Despite being on the back foot, it was Wells that went ahead with one of their few attacks as Jake Brown's blocked shot ran for Bryant to smash in off the underside of the bar.

Wayne Thorne's side set about clearing the deficit immediately, but other than a deep Egan cross that Justin juggled before holding onto, chances on goal were few.

They would level on 23 minutes when Egan beat his defender for pace and delivered another long cross from the right for the rising Griffiths to head back into the far corner.

A whipped Lee Pitman free-kick, destined for the top corner, drew the first save of the game from Larkhall custodian Lewis Noice and the Wells frontman had another shot blocked before the half-hour was up.

Yet is was the Larks that remained in control, and they should have gone in front when Ben Wych turned down two passes to either side 25 yards out and shuffled past two defenders in the box, only for Justin's feet to keep him out.

Referee Savvas Yianni ruled out a headed goal for Ollie Price; the Larks skipper deemed to have climbed on his defender waiting for Jack Masterton's right-wing free-kick.

Egan's pace and deliveries were a constant threat to Wells, with the wideman sending in another centre that top-scorer Jamie Lyons fired into the side net.

Brooks' byline trickery and a Griffiths knock-back set up Lyons for another shot that was blocked by the defence, before Egan missed the final chance of the half, stretching to prod wide first-time with Justin closing.

The second half was a different story as Wells came out more vibrant and constantly recycled the ball into attacks.

They thought they had gone back in front when Nathan Truckle latched onto a high ball, lifted it over Noice and ran round to touch in.

More than a minute after he had wheeled away in celebration, however, referee and assistant consulted, and deemed he had forced the ball over the line with his hand.

Undeterred, they continued to attack. Dan Spill forced Noice into a full-stretch save with a clever backwards header, but their pressure would eventually tell.

A long ball to the left side of the box found the head of Britton, who knocked down for Pitman to slip into the net.

The Larks responded with Griffiths sprinting through two defenders and firing past the post.

Alex Kite had a superb chance to level on the hour as he placed a shot towards the bottom corner, only for a covering defender to turn the ball wide.

Larkhall continued to up the pressure, with a Brooks header deflected behind and another from Price bunted straight at Justin.

Lyons also drove at the heart of a back-pedalling Wells defence and missed the bottom corner by inches, and Price fired over from 15 yards as a lack of clinical instinct proved costly for the Bath club.

There were further chances for Kite, who had a shot deflected for a corner that was then headed agonisingly wide.

One final Egan cross was swung into the box but Lyons, jumping and with his back to goal, could only flick the ball just off target.

And with virtually the final play of the game, Lyons jabbed a volley off Justin's left-hand upright to sum up an evening of frustration.

Larkhall Athletic: Noice; Rosser (Jones 80), Masterton, Kite, Price, Wych, Egan, Arndale, Griffiths, Brooks, Lyons

Subs not used: Scott, Restorick, Russell.

Wells City: Justin; Allen, Bryant, Saunders, Gerrish, Rendall, Truckle, Spill (Padfield 80), Britton, Pitman, Brown.

Subs not used: Price, Grist, Coppell, Sokol.

Referee: Savvas Yianni.

Attendance: 235

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