West Hill Wasps Under-11s emerged victorious in a penalty shoot-out that was used to finally decide the outcome of their superb cup tie with Exeter-based Central.

Wasps have already shown this season that they area force to be reckoned with and their all-round performance underlined their growing maturity.

Wasps made a stunning start with Jake Swait racing onto a through ball, out pacing two defenders, and then rifling the ball into the back of the net in the very first minute!

Central fought back strongly and quickly levelled before edging into a 2-1 lead.

The Wasps don’t just play good football though, they also know how to dig in when the going gets tough! That was something they did in abundance as they stood strong in the face of some determined Central attacking play.

The midfield of Holly Dunning, Enzo Robertson-Moro and Lewis Morgan worked tirelessly and Albert Smith caused constant problems for the Central defence. The West Hill pressure began to build and they deservedly levelled at 2-2 with Swait again the scorer.

Wasps were the better team and the defence marshalled by the tough tackling trio of Theo Munro, Jason Ferguson and Adam Muscat, kept Central at bay. It was young Swait who got on the end of a neat build-up to drill the ball home and make it 3-2. Central hit back though and levelled at 3-3 to send the game into extra-time.

The introduction of Ted Benson resulted in his high octane game press the Central players in all areas of the pitch. With Benji Barrett-Miles outstanding in defence, Wasps went in search of a fourth goal and it was Benson who scored it with his superbly timed run to the near post ending with him tucking the ball home.

With the clock ticking down and Wasps’ followers beginning to celebrate Central were awarded a penalty!

The kick was virtually the final one of the contest and, when the ball hit the back of the net, it meant a penalty shoot-out with Central clearly fancying their chances after their ‘great escape’ spot kick!

However, Wasps, showing real spirit, were determined not to miss the chance of making cup progress.

One thing that has been installed into this West Hill side is the fact they are a team and as such win together and lose together.

Hands were raised by those who felt they could take penalties. The first six penalties from both sides hit the back of the net which left the game going into a sudden death shoot-out.

It got to 7-7 when Wasps goalkeeper Luke Williams, who had made some important saves in the game, rifled home his teams eighth spot kick.

Having scored his penalty he then returned to goalkeeping duties and saw the next Central kick go wide of the goal to send wasps into the next round.