AFC Stoneham 0-0 Cockfosters (4-2 on pens): Purps prevail after Callum Lee’s shootout heroics

By Andy Mitchell

Wessex League champions AFC Stoneham held their nerve to win the Isuzu FA Vase 4-2 on penalties against Cockfosters after a final that never got going under Wembley’s arch.

Goalkeeper Callum Lee was the hero, saving from Adam ‘Angus’ Hastings to hand his side the initiative in the shootout.

Callum Laycock, Jake Thomson, Tom Annetts and Tyrrell Sampson were all on target and it was all over when Cockfosters full-back Junior Moses leant back and cleared the crossbar with his side’s fourth.

In truth, Stoneham took an hour to get going with Cockfosters targetman Kendall Gyamfi seeing the best of the chances come and go, although the Purps edged the final 30 and neither side could credibly lay claim to warranting victory across a nervy 0-0 stalemate.

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The road to Wembley

Stoneham bypassed the early rounds as one of last season’s final 16, this season’s quest starting in November with a 4-3 triumph at Kidlington followed by wins against Cinderford Town (4-0) and at Barnstaple Town (2-1).

The Purps went one better than the previous year’s club-record run with a 4-3 penalty shootout success after a 1-1 draw at Haywards Heath Town, then overcoming Coventry United 3-0 in the last eight.

Surprise package Hallen were next in the semi-finals and the job was pretty much done with a 3-0 win in the away leg, a 3-1 success at home proving the icing on the cake.

Cockfosters might be just 12 miles from Wembley but their journey began back in September in the second qualifying round, clearing eight hurdles – including four via penalty shootouts – to reach the showpiece.

A 4-0 win at Long Melford was followed by shootout wins over Spartan South Midlands Premier rivals Tring Athletic (1-1, 12-11 on pens) and AFC Welwyn (2-2, 4-3 on pens).

Soul Tower Hamlets (1-1, 3-2 on pens) and Crawley Down Gatwick (2-1) were seen off before laying down the ultimate markers with victory at holders Whitstable Town (1-1, 5-4 on pens) in the last 16.

An epic 4-2 win at Droylsden followed with Punjab United beaten 3-1 over two legs (1-1 away, 2-0 at home).

Match action

It was a scrappy and at-times fractious start with robust challenges breaking up Cockfosters’ attempts to create momentum.

A deep corner was headed out to George Lutaaya who hooked back in for Gymafi to steer over from close range nine minutes in.

A quick ball down the left released Sampson who played inside for Duarte Martins but Jandir da Cruz raced across to instantly slam the door on his route to goal.

Gyamfi bustled past Dan Miller to run in behind but his man tracked him all the way and the ball rolled through to Lee without Gyamfi mustering a shot.

Crunching challenges and appeals to referee Elliot Bell continued to be the order of the day without much hope of the deadlock being broken before the interval.

Second half

Cockfosters went within a whisker of breaking the deadlock in the third minute of the second half, an under-pressure Lee punching an inswinging corner up rather than out with Gyamfi hooking a looping rebound against the face of the bar.

Gyamfi was close to connecting with Cory Ugbomah’s lifted cross moments later and Junior Mubiayi – the midfielder who seemed to cover every blade of grass between the two boxes – saw a 53rd-minute volley dip over from 18 yards after a bout of head tennis dropped his way.

A slick passage of play delivered Stoneham’s first clear sight of goal, Annetts releasing Sampson down the right and bombing forward to receive a cutback that he leant back and lifted handsomely over just shy of the hour mark.

That saw a momentum shift and Martins saw his looping far-post header come back off the bar from a 66th-minute corner with Lewis Nagle’s follow-up blocked en route to goal by team-mate Mat Bainbridge.

Substitutions disrupted the momentum but one replacement – Owen Fee – produced a killer threaded pass to release Nagle whose near-post blast was swatted wide by Connor Sansom.

Cockfosters fans were on their feet when Moses raced into space on the right but his cutback foxed colleague Joe Shenouda.

Penalties

Laycock went first and slotted low to the right with Lutaaya passing in the leveller.

Jake Thomson waited for Sansom to go right before rolling home and Hastings became the first to be thwarted by Lee’s huge sprawl to his left.

Annetts coolly stepped up with a stroke down the middle to heap pressure on Max Jessop but he held his nerve by tucking to Lee’s left.

Sampson avoided eye contact with Sansom who was guided back to his line by the referee, planting confidently to the right.

That meant Moses had to score but he leant back and cleared the crossbar to spark a huge purple party.

Teams and more

AFC Stoneham (4-1-2-3): Lee; Wells (Cluett, 90+5), Miller, J Thomson, Nagle; Bainbridge (Laycock, 70); Welch (Orvis, 90+7), Jenkins (Kerton, h-t); Annetts, Martins (Fee, 80), Sampson. Unused subs: Dyer, Johnston.

Cockfosters: Sansom; Ntege (Shaw, 87), Lovell, Da Cruz, Moses; Stacey (Jessop, 87), Mubiaya; Ugbomah (Hastings, 77), Sotoyinbo (Gordon, 75), Lutaaya; Gyamfi (Shenouda, 87). Unused subs: M Thomson, Holland.

Referee: Elliot Bell

Star Man: Junior Mubiayi (Cockfosters)

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