One day short of the anniversary of last year’s county cup triumph, the Colts retained the trophy with one of the most accomplished performances of recent years. Boston United’s Jakemans Stadium isn’t on the doorstep of either finalist but proved to be the perfect venue in ideal weather conditions.

Neither side adopted a softly softly approach to the game and heavy challenges were a feature from the first minute. It was from one of those challenges, and its subsequent free-kick wide on Ruston’s right, that the Lincoln side had the first chance; skipper Jordan Curtis’ header went wide of the target, but reminded Crowle’s travelling contingent that Sports was the only team to have scored three goals in one game against the Colts in over a year.

It proved to be one of the few scares at the Crowle end of the pitch and Ruston’s Craig Turner was the busier goalkeeper. There was little he could do just after half an hour had been played when his centre back, Ben Coleman, deflected Hashlee Cranidge’s shot into his own goal. Coleman’s relief at seeing a raised flag for offside was matched only by Crowle’s surprise, but it wouldn’t be long before the side from the north of the county would take a lead it would still hold at the final whistle.

Joe Hare, who’d scored the last goal in the semi-final victory against Skegness, volleyed Tom Garner’s deep cross from the left into the goal off the underside of the crossbar – a goal which would grace any cup final. It would be the only strike of the opening forty-five minutes but both sides came within inches of adding to it. Ruston’s closest chance came from a Louis Nesbitt shot which struck his team-mate Andy Janssen, deflecting the ball past Zach Beedle and onto the outside of the post. Crowle came even closer in the fortieth minute after Joe Butler brought Lewis Graham down in the penalty area, but Cranidge’s spot-kick thumped the inside of the post before bouncing back across the goal and out to safety.

The second half was only five minutes old when Kurt Robinson slid a shot below Turner to double Crowle’s lead as the team in red began to take control of the game. A third goal for the Colts, a well-taken header from Man of the Match Henry Cook in the sixty-seventh minute, calmed any nerves the vociferous supporters might have been feeling. Another disallowed goal, this time Liam Snow was flagged for offside, didn’t dampen the lusty encouragement from the sidelines but did preface a spell when Sports began to spend more time in the Crowle half and bring Beedle into the game.

That phase resulted in a goal for the Engineers when their leading score Haydn Havard released Jack Wilkinson on the right wing. Wilkinson’s pinpoint cross was headed home by Janssen but any optimism created among Ruston’s fans was extinguished a minute later when Ashton Short squared a pass to Snow who poked the ball into the goal to become the first Crowle player to score in two County Cup finals.

There was still time for Snow to get behind the Ruston defence and fire a low shot past Turner from the D of the penalty area in the eighty-fifth minute for his nineteenth goal of the season and a five-one lead for his side. The final whistle was blown after four minutes of stoppage time and Nick Hanson, the CEO of the Lincolnshire FA, presented the trophy to Crowle captain Jordan Spencer in front of the joyous Colts supporters.

Crowle Colts FC

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