by Paul Lerman

Wingate & Finchley 2
Hendon 3
After extra time
Middlesex Senior Cup

HENDON beat Wingate & Finchley in the Middlesex Senior Cup as a thrilling match was settled at the end of extra time.

Both sides had long periods of domination throughout the game. The start belonged to Hendon as Lubomir Guentchev shot from the edge of the area forcing Gavin King to save with his legs, and then Jamie Busby struck sweetly from similar distance but King positioned himself well.

At the other end a long chipped ball fed Josh Cooper through on goal but keeper James Reading spread himself well to block with his right foot.

Midway through the half Hendon took the lead with a quick counter-attack as Aaron Morgan played in Glenn Garner and he drilled the ball beyond King.

Dave Laird was forced off with an injury, and his replacement James Bent made a quick impression as he made an angled pass for Lewis Jones whose fierce shot was tipped wide by Reading.

On the half hour mark Wingate equalised when a corner was cleared only as far as Cooper and he volleyed on target towards the bottom right corner and saw the ball squirm in via a defender on the line.

Ten minutes into the second half Cooper gave his side the lead. Marc Henry intercepted a poor ball on the halfway line and instantly played Cooper through on goal. He composed himself as he bore on goal and timed his shot perfectly lashing the ball into the top left corner.

In the 68th minute Garner levelled the scores with his second goal, making space for himself inside the box and firing low into the bottom left.

Both sides seemed resigned to going into extra time, though Burrell had the chance to win the game for Wingate with five minutes remaining but as a corner fell to him he volleyed over the bar. Just moments later he was played through to the left by Jordan Fowler but his deflected shot agonisingly hit the far post.

Early in extra time Guentchev struck an ingenuitive free kick as the ball was teed up in the air for him, but King made a superb diving save to tip the ball wide. Lewis Jones thought he had scored what would have been the goal of the season after Cooper set him up on the edge of the area but his effort was rashly ruled out for offside.

Hendon dominated the second period of extra time and Guentchev cruelly scored with just minutes remaining volleying in from close range on the end of a cross from the right.

Lineup: King, Williams (McLachlan 118), Sloma, O'Brien, Rifat, Nielsen, Cooper, Henry (Fowler 78), Jones, Laird (Bent 18), Burrell. Subs: Chase, Norman.