Chasetown FC suffered a heartbreaking extra-time defeat in the final of the Walsall Senior Cup.
The Scholars had been in a 3-1 lead with 12 minutes left on the clock against Walsall, but the Saddlers hit back before landing the killer blow at the end of the first half of extra-time.
Chasetown had a penalty shout turned down in an even first half with Richard Davies also going close for Marcus Law’s side.
Nathan Waite thought he’d broke the deadlock only to see his effort cleared off the line by a defender.
Those missed opportunities in the first half looked like they would come back to haunt The Scholars when Walsall took the lead through Jordan Murphy after 52 minutes.
Chasetown didn’t let their heads drop and when Simon Brown was sent tumbling in the box, he dusted himself down to net the leveller from the resulting penalty.
And the game had turned on its head by the 67th minute when Waite’s through ball found Danny Edwards who slotted under the keeper.
Things got even better for The Scholars three minutes later when a Davies effort was steered into the net by Danny Griffiths.
Now it was Walsall’s turn to find a second wind as Murphy netted his second with a header on 79 minutes.
The Saddlers were level when Rico Henry slotted past keeper John Bateman.
There was still time for a goal though and Chasetown went closest in normal time when Ashley Grayson steered a header off target.
Walsall retook the lead and ultimately won the cup in the dying moments of the first half of extra-time when Amadou Bakayoko netted.
Click below to see more of Dave Birt’s pictures from the game:
The Chasetown lads showed loads of spirit, and Marcus is doing a cracking job of leadership. Next season should be a good one!