Marlow downed
Marlow FC v Bracknell Town FC: Blues more than match their higher
Marlow 0, Bracknell Town 1
Marlow could lay claim to being the better side in Tuesday's Berks & Bucks Senior Cup final against Bracknell Town at Ascot United's Racecourse Ground, but it was their rivals who lifted the trophy after an even contest was settled by a lucky, deflected strike.
Having overcome Reading's u23s side on penalties in the semi-finals last month, the Blues have shown plenty of character in this competition and - on a miserable wet evening in Ascot - they once again stepped up their levels to match a side who were pushing for promotion from step 3 this season.
Neither side was able to work their opposition keeper enough over the 90 minutes, but Marlow had been marginally the better side in the first period with Junaid Bell running the show in midfield and Dawid Rogalski giving the Robins' defence plenty of headaches.
However, the goal which settled this final arrived just three minutes after the restart, when a half-cleared cross fell kindly for Darryl Sanders on the edge of the Blues area and his strike was deflected off a Marlow player and then the post to wrong-foot Aaron Watkins and bounce into the net.
The goal seemed to partially suck the wind from Marlow's sails, and they struggled to carve out many clear cut chances after that against Bracknell's disciplined defence.
The Robins were able to take the sting out of the contest in the closing stages but there was one more moment of panic for them in the dying stages when substitute Charlie Samuel lifted a glorious ball in for Rogalski however, the Marlow striker, who'd led the line so well, saw his touch desert him at the crucial moment and the ball ran through to Michael Eacott.
At the end, the Marlow players collected their runners-up medals and watched as Bracknell captain Dan Bayliss lifted the cup, but while there was disappointment for Blues boss Mark Bartley, there was also a great deal of pride at having run a good side like Bracknell so close in this showpiece
final. It's been a very good season for the Blues, but had the fine margins gone their way on Tuesday, and in their play-off semifinal defeat to Hanworth Villa, it could have been an excellent one.
Despite the wet weather, Ascot's lushlooking Racecourse Ground was packed to the rafters for this final, with fans from both sides producing a good atmosphere. Neither side created much in the opening 15 minutes, but Sanders showed a couple of classy touches for the Robins. The closest either side came in the opening half hour was when Eacott had to be on his toes to tip a header from Bayliss over his own bar to prevent an own goal. Jordan Esprit looked lively in attack for Bracknell and when he was played in on the right-hand side of Marlow's box in the 29th minute he drew a smart save from Watkins.
Marlow's Toby Raggett saw an effort deflected over the bar in the 35th minute as the Blues came on strongly in the closing stages of the half. Rogalski then glided past several Bracknell challenges, but Eacott managed to scramble away his cross at the near post.
The second half got off to the worst possible start for Marlow when Sanders' shot took a double deflection before bouncing into the net, however, Marlow rallied reasonably well and threw caution to the wind in the closing stages by bringing on Aaron McLeish-White and Samuel for the closing stages. Despite seeing plenty of the ball, Marlow couldn't create that one clear cut chance to get themselves back on level terms. Bell sent a free-kick narrowly over the crossbar in the 66th minute and Kai Hamilton-Olise forced a save from Eacott in the 71st minute. But generally, they were held at arm’s length by Bracknell who had the better chances in the final quarter.
Jack Dean trickled a shot against the foot of the post in the 73rd minute and substitute Gary Abisogun caused havoc with a late run and cross that the Blues just managed to scramble clear. Lodge's corner deceived everyone but bounced just wide of the post, and the Robins saw out the final minutes to lift the county cup for the very first time.