Beer Albion vets suffered the heartbreak of a penalty shoot-out when they were in action at Coach Road, Newton Abbot, contesting the final of the 2019/20 season Devon Vets Cup.
In what was a close contest from first whistle to last, there was plenty of action at both ends of the pitch.
It was Lakeside Athletic who opened the scoring in the first half, getting their noses in front thanks to a free-kick that somehow found its way into the net under the Beer glovesman.
Richard Walker restored parity from the penalty spot and then Walker struck again with a superbly executed ‘lob’ from all of 35-yards, to give Beer a 2-1 lead.
What proved to be a big turning point in the game came on the stroke of half-time when Beer goalkeeper Stephen Jones twisted his ankle after jumping to catch a corner.
The glovesman bravely soldiered on, but five minutes into the second half he compounded his injury and could take no further part in the contest after Lakeside levelled following a goalmouth scramble.
Beer centre back Mike Hancock took over in goal and this led to other tactical changes.
There were no further goals though Hancock and his opposite number made some superb saves and, with the game ending 2-2, a penalty shoot-out was held to determine who would celebrate with the cup.
Beer missed two of their sport kicks while Lakeside found the net with all theirs’s to take the shoot-out 4-1.
Deafeat was harsh on the Fishermen who would surely have gone on to lift the cup had they not suffered that injury to their goalkeeper.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here