Gunners went out of the John Lusted Cup after falling to Hagbourne Oak in extra time.
Hagbourne made the better start of the teams in the first half and had more of the possession and Julian Willis was called into action early on.
However, against the run of play Gunners took the lead through Dave Owen when he latched onto a through ball, beat a player and slipped the ball past the oncoming keeper. There was a nervous moment when Matt Rees was required to clear the ball of his line. At half time, Gunners had battled well and were ahead by one goal to nil.
In the second half Gunners had more possession and created a few more chances, Matt Rees was unlucky when he nearly scored from a close range header and Richard Alderton also had a shot blocked on the line.
However, Hagbourne also had a few chances and they especially dangerous down the left wing. Hagbourne did equalise in the second half to take the game into extra time. In the first half of extra time, Hagbourne took the lead after five minutes to give them a slender lead. Gunners thought they were back in the game when they were nearly awarded a penalty for handball but the referee amended his decision after consulting the linesman.
Hagbourne seemed to get better and better as the game went on and Gunners were looking a lot more ragged. In the second half of extra time, Hagbourne scored two further goals as Gunners were trying to commit more men forward and this sealed the victory. Gunners seemed to run out of steam towards the end and failed to make a fight of the game in extra time.
Gunners "Men of the Match" was Julian Willis for some fine keeping and Matt Rees for a good game at centre-half.
Match Facts
MOM : J Willis / M Rees
Goal : D Owen (1)
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