An exceptional performance from both teams created a brilliant match but only one team could win, and that winner was Sevenoaks Town FC who beat Phoenix Sports FC after a late penalty from Motiejus Burba broke the deadlock.

Sevenoaks manager Luke Mitchell and coach Adam Law said that they were ‘really pleased for the boys (Sevenoaks)’. ‘We hung in there and ground out a result which sometimes happens in a cup final, but were obviously delighted, delighted for the boys.’

The match got underway quickly with a few chances coming from Phoenix within the first ten minutes. Henry Leek peeled away from the Sevenoaks defense on the 2nd minute and would have been clean through but the linesman flagged him for being offside. Leek got another chance when Dylan Silva played a great through ball into him, but Leek’s shot was just wide. Phoenix continued to pile the pressure onto Sevenoaks as James Dyer almost created a goal after a spectacular run which led to a great ball into the box but a Sevenoaks shirt got to the ball first.

The chances for Phoenix kept coming thick and fast. An incredible bit of buildup play led to a great ball from Charlie Hanmore which proved too hot to handle as it fell straight to Jamie Hutchins, but his shot was just too high as it whistled past the crossbar on the 13th minute. Silva then almost broke the deadlock for Phoenix on the 16th minute, but his header was cleared off the line by some heroic defending by Sevenoaks!

After having to hold out for quite a portion of time, Sevenoaks were finally able to break forward and almost scored after Tom Montgomery rushed out of his goal to stop the attack. Montgomery managed to push the ball away, but the ball fell straight back into danger as Charlie Pickard picked the ball up and took a shot at the open goal, but he was unlucky as his shot went wide on the 19th minute. This chance didn’t scare Phoenix into a more defensive stance as they continued to push on. Thomas Dolding almost gave Phoenix the lead after a good show of skill got him clean through on goal, but his shot just rolled wide.

Sevenoaks finally settled into the match on the 27th minute and started to show what had got them into this final. A superb shot from Dio Sartori forced Montgomery to make an incredible save on the 27th minute. Sevenoaks and Phoenix then battled for the ball for the remaining minutes of the first half but a foul from Jack Wall led to a golden opportunity for Sevenoaks on the edge of the box. Motiejus Burba stepped up to take the free kick but he couldn’t get enough curl on the ball to bend it in towards goal.

Jack Rogers then blew his whistle to bring the entertaining half to an end, leaving supporters hoping for the second half to play out like the first, full of action!  

Unlike the first half, Sevenoaks came out as the more attacking team after their half time talk as they managed to get some quick chances. The biggest out of these chances fell to Paul Driver who had a bit of space in the box however defenders started to close in him, forcing him to rush his shot which almost went in on the 59th minute. Phoenix responded with an equally good chance on the 61st minute when some good play from Hanmore allowed him to get a good cross into the box. The ball fell to Dolding but unluckily he got his feet mixed up which led him to miss his chance.

Sevenoaks then pressed on to make sure that they were the team that were going to break the deadlock. A chance from Oluwatosin Afolabi nearly did break the deadlock but it just skimmed the top of the crossbar on the 65th minute. Just five minutes later Eliott Duncan almost gave Sevenoaks the lead after a great ball in picked him out in the box but his shot floated over. Phoenix then countered straight away after this chance as Edward Green got one on one with Nathan Carter, but Carter rushed out to meet the ball first.

The deadlock was finally broken on the 81st minute after a penalty was awarded to Sevenoaks after a foul in the box. Burba took the responsibility to put his team ahead and he did just that with a cool, calm and sleek shot which slotted into the bottom right. He topped of his goal with a lovely tribute written on a shirt underneath his kit. Phoenix pushed for an equalizer, but a good defensive display kept Sevenoaks in the lead.

Jack Rogers then blew his whistle and to the delight of Sevenoaks fans. After being dominated for most of the first half, Sevenoaks pulled off an incredible display which was equally matched by Phoenix. Both teams deserved a win and should be really proud for putting on a beautiful display.

Sevenoaks Town FC: Nathan Carter, Elliott Duncan, Tom Williams, Paul Driver, Oluwatosin Afolabi, Charlie Greenwood, Harry Edwards (Captain), Dio Sartori, Kyle Tremain, Motiejus Burba, Charlie Pickard.

Subs: Max Chandler for Charlie Pickard (83rd Minute), Pat Bilham for Charlie Greenwood (85th Minute) and Max Johnston for Eliott Duncan (90th Minute).

Subs Not Used: Ben Keaveney. 

Phoenix Sports FC: Tom Montgomery, Euan Corbett-Smith, Archie Roast, James Ash, Charlie Hanmore, Thomas Dolding, Jack Wall, James Dyer, Jamie Hutchins, Henry Leek and Dylan Silva (Captain).

Subs: Edward Green for Henry Leek (57th Minute), David Balogun for Archie Roast (72nd Minute) and Tiago Dos Santos for Jack Wall (83rd Minute).

Subs Not Used: Thomas Fernandes and Lucas Mvongo.  

FA Player of The Match: Tom Williams (Sevenoaks Town FC).

Referee: Jack Rogers.

Assistants: Ben Marshall and Ben Baker.

Fourth Official: Kieran Parrott.

Pictures supplied by PSP Images.