WILTSHIRE SUNDAY CUP FINAL – 27 March
LACOCK land Sunday Cup victory
DPR FC 0 FC Lacock 3
An impressive all round team performance from FC Lacock saw them defeat the much fancied Swindon League outfit DPR FC 3-0 to lift this seasons YESRef sponsored Wiltshire Sunday Cup and in doing so become only tenth team from the league to do so in the 52 year history of the competition and in what the 50th staged final and the first since 2019, following a two break due to Covid19.
The winning margin may suggest that it was a walk in the Spring sunshine for Lacock, but that wasn’t the case as DPR started the game at Oakfield Stadium, home of Melksham Town on the front foot, as they came out flying and after cutting through the Lacock defence they were inches away from taking the lead on 3 minutes, with Rob Lincoln inches away from turning Tom McCulloch’s teasing cross beyond Dave Cardus.
With DPR pressing at every opportunity, Lacock escaped another scare in the 10th minute when Manuel Mesas saw his pinpoint delivery superbly controlled by Andy Bilko only for him to fire a good chance into the side netting.
Midway through the half and with Lacock still looking for an opening of their own, DPR were presented with another opportunity to break the deadlock, a free kick saw Meses find Sam English who headed wide of the target, when he really should have tested Cardus in the Lacock goal.
Even though Lacock were under the cosh for the opening half hour, their defence was outstanding as they were equal to everything that DPR threw their way and with Corey Burgess, Ali Mayoh, Alex Lewis and Kieran Hard all putting their bodies in the way when it mattered they succeeded in keeping out their opponents.
The game really came to life in the final 15 minutes of the half, in the 34th minute Lacock tested DPR keeper Luke Kuczynski for the first time and he proved his worth as he tipped Dan King’s goal bound header over the bar and from the resulting corner he denied Mark Dolman.
At the other end, Rob Lincoln flashed a shot wide of the target and Tom McCulloch headed into the safe hands of keeper Cardus, before Lincoln was unable to apply a telling finish to his excellent first touch.
From all the goal mouth action at the Lacock end the ball was cleared up field where Lacock won a corner from which the villagers take the lead. Nick Mills found Mark Dolman whose header put Lacock 1-0 up on 43 minutes.
With almost the last action of the first half, DPR almost restored parity, but again they were thwarted as goal line clearance from Kieran Hard denied Sam English an equaliser.
If Lacock were slow to get going in the first half, they were quickest out the blocks in the second period as they doubled their advantage in the 48th minute, Dan King saw his corner flicked on by Josh Bright and Rory Davis was on hand to bundle the ball home from close range to make it 2-0.
As the game flowed from one end to the other and with DPR seeking a way back in to the game they found it hard to break down a resolute and organised Lacock defence who grew in confidence as the final wore on. It was Lacock who had the next real effort of note, which came on 61 minutes, a free kick, some 20 yards out was taken by Dan King, and although his effort cleared the DPR wall it dropped on the top of the net, leading to premature celebrations from the Lacock bench.
Rob Lincoln was left in space, by a rare lapse in concentration in the Lacock defence, but a poor finish saw him blaze a shot wide of the target for a DPR side who made a couple of changes as they searched for a way back into the game, which after a promising open 30 minutes was now drifting away from them.
Josh Bright who was proving to be a handful for DPR could only watch as Rory Davis just failed to get ahead of keeper Kuczynski to head home what would have been a killer third goal for Lacock and with manager Ryan Ross replacing Dan King and Davis with Adam Stevens and Eddie Summers, it was looking as if they had settled for what they had.
Lacock had other ideas and with 5 minutes remaining they added the icing and the cherry to the already bulging cake, with a goal that was all about Josh Bright, after chasing down a loose ball and getting the better of keeper Kuczynski, his cross failed to find a Lacock player, but it was turned into his own net by the unfortunate Steve Pleass to make it 3-0 and kill off any chance of a late fight back by the Swindon League side.
At the final whistle, both teams knew they had been involved in a great game with DPR being gracious in defeat and a credit to manager Liam Lewis who will believe that had his side taken their early chances the outcome may well have been different but once Lacock got into the stride, they had to work hard for their victory, which in the end was deserved as all 11 players delivered the goods when it really mattered.
Winning captain Josh Bright picked up the Sunday Cup for competition sponsor Ben Williamson from YESRef and Wiltshire FA representative Colin Kennerson.
