An Andrew Neal penalty proved too little too late for the Peacocks as they were beaten 2-1 by Weston-super-Mare in the Somerset Premier Cup Final at the Optima Stadium yesterday evening (30th July).
Both sides had had opportunities, most notably when Sam Hendy hit the post, before the Seagulls took the lead just past the half hour when Hendy’s shot was deflected past Lloyd Irish by Owen Howe. Neal was denied by Niall Maher as Town searched for an equaliser, but it was the hosts who added a second five minutes from time when Hendy surged through a gap and stroked the ball past an exposed Irish. The Peacocks gave themselves a lifeline four minutes later when Neal lashed home a penalty after Ollie Chamberlain had been brought down but despite five minutes of stoppage time they were unable to find another goal as Weston won the Cup for the second successive season.
Reaction – Head of Football Rob Dray commented:” Congratulations to Weston on winning the Somerset Premier Cup. We didn’t manage the elements very well in the first half and to their credit they did so going in one down wasn’t the end of the world. We were better in the second half but it wasn’t quite our night. It was great to get a real game as it wasn’t like a pre-season match, but as last week when we didn’t get too high after two very good performances against Yeovil and Exeter, we won’t get too low after last night’s display. We are still in pre-season and this was our 4th game in 11 days so our levels will be where we want to be for the opening game on the 10th.”