Shepherds Arms sign off with penalty shoot-out win against Nostell MW in Landlords Trophy final

The soon to be disbanding team needed a penalty shoot-out to overcome Nostell MW (Sunday) after 90 minutes and extra-time could not separate the two teams in a competitive final, which had to be replayed at the Lock Lane home of Altofts FC after the initial match had to be abandoned due to a serious injury to Shepherds player Rhys Wilkinson.

The outstanding youthful Nostell side gave a good account of themselves and after an evening opening quarter of an hour, they created the first chance as the lively Josh Craig had a goal chalked-off for offside.

His clever cut-back from the right was, however, beautifully met by Ben McAdam who steered a low shot on target to give Welfare the lead in the 26th minute.

This jolt spurred Shepherd into an all-out attack and in the dying minutes of the first half, a teasing and jinking run into the area by James Eyles drew a foul from defender Harry Chapman. But the chance to equalise was wasted with the normally reliable Brandon Kane thundering his spot-kick against the Nostell crossbar.

The Horbury-based outfit made a strong start on the turn. Midfielder Rob Bloomfield created a goal-scoring opportunity for Myles Emmett whose effort was bravely deflected to safety at the expense of a corner by Nostell full-back Thomas Booth before his defensive partner Lewis Hughes blocked a goal bound Eyles effort to keep their side's narrow lead intact.

However, Shepherds' purple patch reaped rewards in the 57th minute when good work on the left flank by Myles Emmet saw him turn his marker before delivering a low drive across the face of the Nostell goal which evaded a forest of bodies and saw centre-half Thomas Brook steal in on the blind side to steer the ball home at the far post to equalise - a perfect captain's goal that led a release of pent-up emotion and a celebration in front of their joyous fans.

At the other end, a last-ditch recovery tackle saw Shepherds defender Bradley Kilner deny Nostell's Aaron Lunn a certain goal as the game began to open up with both sides pushing for the winning goal.

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In a dramatic finish before the game went into extra-time, Rob Bloomfield had a shot charged down by Lee Dooler before Nostell keeper George Bason produced two match saving stops of the highest quality to deny David Precious while at the other end in the dying seconds Lee Dooler's header was foiled by keeper Jamie Abbott.

Both sides had opportunities to steal the winner in extra-time but tired legs and sterling work by both sets of rear guard forced the final into a penalty shoot-out with the experienced Shepherds closing a chapter in their history with a 3-1 win on penalties as reflected below:

Nostell MW: Gervas Chipasha (hit post), Ben McAdam (scored), Elliot Johnson (saved), Darren Ruston (miss).

Shepherds: James Eyles (scored), Bradley Kilner (saved), Thomas Brook (scored), Jake Irvine (scored).

A special mention to the Nostell side who produced a fantastic performance without their two leading marksman with 40 goals between them in Billy Mole and Dillon Connelly and went toe to toe with Shepherds Arms.

Match ball for the final was sponsored by Lightwaves Leisure & Community Centre.

The man of the match award, sponsored by Pennine Trophies (Heckmondwike) went to Nostell keeper George Bason.

The Landlords Trophy was presented to Shepherds Arms captain Thomas Brook by Wakefield Sunday Football League fixture secretary Steve Mercer.