At a glance
- Three Bridges win the Sussex Transport Senior Cup in their first final appearence
- Goals from Reece Hallard and Zane Albarus led the game to finish 1-1
- Joe Belmont missed the decisive penalty for Brighton
It was penalty heartbreak for the young Brighton side as they lost 5-4 in the shootout to Three Bridges. Joe Belmont missed the all important spot kick as he failed to take it to sudden death. Commiserations for this young Brighton side who have to bounce back to face Manchester United U21’s in the PL 2 play-off final.
But a big congratulations to Three Bridges as they round off an impressive season. The Bridges were crowned champions of the Isthmian League South East league, finishing on 96 points. And now winning the Sussex Transport Senior Cup for the first time in the clubs history.
Three Bridges Strike First
Brighton enjoyed the majority of possession for the first 25 minutes, Three Bridges were the side to get themselves ahead. Reece Hallard swept home his shot into the bottom left corner following a ball played in by Dan Ferraira. Against the run of play, the Bridges, who appear in the Sussex Senior Cup Final for the first time in their history took a 1-0 lead.
Despite taking the lead, Three Bridges failed to capitalise and build any sort of momentum and Brighton made them regret it. 10 minutes later Zane Albarus slid in at the back post to get on the end of Kofi Shaw’s ball to make it 1-1. Shaw has been a real threat for Brighton all game, showing why he cost the club £1 million.
Brighton and Three Bridges Share Chances
After the game got underway for the second half a similar trend to the first half followed, Brighton were the team with more possession. Three Bridges then had a golden opportunity to retake the lead, Noel Leighton was played through in on goal but as he tried to square it to Kevin Rivera his pass was cut off by Steven Hall and the chance had gone.
After coming on for a matter of seconds, Henry Kasvosve with his first touch missed a sitter in front of goal. Albarus had put it on a plate however the Welshman couldn’t convert the simple chance.
The Albion piled on the pressure by hitting the crossbar on two separate occasions. First was through Shaw as his rocket of a shot rattled the woodwork leaving Sam Roberts rooted to the ground. Second was after Kasvosve picked out Youness Ibrahim in the box, however the Egyptian couldn’t find the back of the net as his shot was saved onto the bar.
Three Bridges Hold Their Nerve
Neither side could finish the other off and as the referee blew for full time, penalties would decide the winner. The Bridges took first and Charlie Bennett made no mistake and sent the keeper the wrong way. Ibrahim was first for Brighton as he calmly slotted his away.
What followed were exceptional penalties from both sides. The keepers couldn’t lay a glove on anything but someone eventually had to miss. Up stepped Joe Belmont, who’s penalty was well saved by Roberts as he dove to his right hand side getting both hands to the ball. After 90 minutes and a penalty shootout, eventually Three Bridges were crowned champions of Sussex.
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