Ingoldisthorpe Reserves come from behind to beat West Winch Reserves in cup final clash

Two-goal Kerion Stephenson was the hero as Ingoldisthorpe Reserves overcame West Winch Reserves in the North West Norfolk League Division Three League Cup final on Friday night.

The showpiece, held at Fakenham Town Football Club, proved to be the passionate and competitive final which many predicted.

There were just seven minutes on the clock when West Winch took the lead through Ryan Mott as his cross-cum-shot deceived Harry Campbell in the Ingoldisthorpe goal to give the Yellows the lead.

Ingoldisthorpe’s reaction was sharp and, as the tempo of the game increased, they equalised through a Kerion Stephenson close range finish on 19 minutes.

The speed of the game meant that both teams struggled to retain possession for long periods of time, but on the 26th minute it was Stephenson who once again drew the plaudits as he finished smartly after a delightful ball from Ant Rice.

As the half came to a close, both sides became frustrated with the lack of meaningful possession they were having and the scored remained 2-1 at the break.

The second half started slowly and Ingoldisthorpe introduced the experienced Jamie Page after 60 minutes and, with nearly his first touch of the game, he fired Thorpe into a 3-1 lead from range.

As the game came to a close, both teams had several chances including a fierce shot smashing against the post from West Winch Reserves.

However, the final whistle blew with the game finishing 3-1 to Ingoldisthorpe Reserves.

The NWNFL welcomed the 8:56 Foundation up to present the trophy and the man-of-the-match award to Ingoldisthorpe’s Keiron Stephenson.