The last fixture of the 2021/22 County League programme was completed with the final of the Divisional Cup.
UniSun Athletic and Whitehaven Miners met at the Falcon Complex Egremont and produced a close, exciting encounter.
UniSun had taken the Division 1 Championship a few weeks earlier when Miners had pushed them all the way finishing runners-up.
Similar to the nip and tuck of the League competition, the final was equally competitive however, it was Miners who triumphed on this occasion taking the trophy with a 2-1 victory.
UniSun started the game the better and struck first in the 8th minute. Following a flowing attacking move, Dave Nelson latched onto the ball on the edge of the penalty area despatching it into the bottom right hand corner giving Miners keeper Andrew Monaghan little chance.
Both teams threatened the opposition’s goal on numerous occasions but neither were able to convert these opportunities into goals.
With around 20 minutes of play left in the first period, UniSun were reduced to 10 men. Carleton Rudd, who had been cautioned earlier by the referee for ‘diving’ was adjudged to have repeated the offence and was subsequently dismissed from the field. Despite the resultant imbalance in numbers, UniSun held firm taking their 1-0 lead into the half time interval.
Unsurprisingly it was Miners who started to have the majority of possession in the second period. However, it took a superb strike from Bradley O’Pray to bring parity to the score.
O’Pray picked up the ball up to the left of the UniSun goal and from around 25 yards, curled the ball inside the right-hand post.
UniSun were unphased by this setback and the reduced numbers between the teams, threatening a number of times with swift breaks from defence.
They held firm until three minutes of normal time was left on the watch when Lewis Park, Miners prolific goal scorer, latched onto the ball and fired it into the back of the net for the deciding goal.
The Divisional Cup was presented to Miners captain, Alan Cardy by County League Chairman Fred Conway.
In a final, and important, foot-note Windscale FC were delighted with both teams for the tidy manner in which they had left their changeroom following the game.
