Tetbury Town beat Taverners on penalties after eight goal thriller in Presidents Cup

Owen Johnson’s injury time effort saw Tetbury Town come from 4-2 down to draw 4-4, taking the Stroud League Presidents Cup final to penalties – with Town beating Taverners to lift the trophy.

In an enthralling encounter, Tetbury looked dead and buried when Luke Bedwell’s curled effort bounced in off the bar to give Taverners a two goal cushion with just over twenty minutes remaining.

Soon after, Josh Hughes was fortunate to escape a second yellow card for a lunge and a reaction with the Taverners players, and he inevitably went on to play a key role in the comeback.

With all of the momentum with Town after 90 minutes, they held their nerve to win the shoot-out with Tavs’ Brook Jenner the unfortunate man to take the only missed penalty.

But the game was played at 100 miles an hour from the first whistle, with Harley Hudd missing a great opportunity after getting in one on one with James King.

Tavs didn’t need to wait too long before the opener though, with Fraser Hankins slipped through by Hudd and he made no mistake.

Tetbury levelled for the first time, just before the half an hour mark, as a corner into the area was flicked on and nodded home from close range by Oscar Purnell.

Disappointingly for Town, they weren’t level for long – as Tavs regained the lead going into half time moments later.

A Jack Liddicot free kick was flicked towards goal by Josh Blunt and after King couldn’t hold onto the effort, Joe Baker was on hand to fire into the empty net.

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Going into the second half, the next goal was crucial and Tetbury couldn’t afford to not be the side to score it.

Left winger Owen Johnson put in a Man of the Match display and it was no surprise to see him involved in the second leveller.

Johnson slid in well down the left byline to win possession, cut into the box and his ball across goal was unfortunately turned into his own net by Ethan Moulden.

Two goals in seven second half minutes looked to have sealed the cup for Taverners, who took the lead for the third time, before extending the scoreline to 4-2 with 22 minutes left to play.

First, Harley Hudd was played in by Tom Williams and he calmly slotted past the on-rushing King, before substitute Luke Bedwell looped a side footed effort towards goal from about 20 yards.

Bedwell’s effort was just too high for King and after hitting the bar, the assistant signalled the referee Charlie Rowlands that the ball had crossed the line and Taverners looked all set to secure their third win over Tetbury this season.

But the moment that potentially changed the course of the match came soon after, as Josh Hughes avoided a second yellow card.

Hughes was cautioned earlier in the half after reacting aggressively to a foul on him. And this time, Hughes flew into a tackle and whilst he missed the ball and man, the lunge instigated a pushing and shoving match between the two sets of players.

Brook Jenner was booked for his involvement in the pushing and shoving and despite being on a yellow, Hughes received a talking to from referee Charlie Rowlands, with most of the ground…well Taverners supporters and a number of neutral spectators stunned to see Hughes remain on the field.

Credit to Hughes though, he went on to inspire his side to a comeback. First, he scored from 12 yards after a trip in the area.

Then in the dying embers of the contest, Hughes delivered one of the most perfect free kicks you’ll ever see into the Taverners box.

The ball was whipped to the back post and after Ed Thompson initially made an incredible close range effort, the ball fell for Johnson to send the Tetbury players, bench and fans into pandemonium.

Going into penalties, the momentum was full with Tetbury and Hughes, Tommy Blackah, Adam Grech and Harry Purnell all scored their penalties to make it 4-4 on penalties after Louis Wilkins, Tom Williams, Ethan Moulden and Fin Byrnes all scored theirs for Taverners.

Jenner saw his spotkick come back off the bar and Billy Montague was presented the chance to win the Presidents Cup for his side, which he duly obliged.

Tetbury Town will be looking to complete a great weekend for the club on Saturday afternoon, when their Reserves side play Barnwood United Reserves in the Stroud League Division Four play-off final – a game you can listen to live on Severn Sport.

Tetbury Town: King, Brown, Grech, Montague, Johnson, Seal, Hughes, Blackah, Jones, O Purnell, H Purnell

Subs: O’Keeffe, Hillman, Krayhem-Wood, Goodwin

Taverners: Thompson, Moulden, Baker, Thornton, Fletcher, Blunt, Hankins, Liddicot, Hudd, Wilkins, Williams

Subs: Bedwell, Shelbourn, Fisher, Jenner, Byrnes

C Martin Roofing Man of the Match – Owen Johnson (Tetbury Town)

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