A Buxton derby will decide the final of tonight’s East Coast Mash Football Cup as Buxton United opposes fierce rival Buxton Stars at the Golden Grove ground at 9 pm following semi-final wins on Thursday evening at the same venue.
The Buxton Stars overcame the Cougars 5-4 on penalty kicks after regulation time ended 1-1. Prior to the aforesaid conclusion, Lomar Reid gave the Cougars the early lead as he found the back of the net in the fifth minute. However, Neil Hutson equalised for Buxton Stars in the 58th minute via a penalty conversion.
Sherry Abrams, head coach of the Buxton Stars, said in a post-match comment, “We started the game not how we ought; we started slow, played too deep, gave up too much space, and conceded early. We talked about it at the break and corrected it; after scoring, they didn’t have any other particular opportunity. We came out in the second half; we started to pressure them, played more compactly, and created many chances that we didn’t put away. That game should have ended 4-1 or 5-1, but we came back and equalised and then won on penalty kicks. They missed two, and we missed one. Also, the refereeing was atrocious.” She further said, “We are going to treat the final like every other game; we will come out and execute, not give up space, attack and defend together, and hopefully we can put together enough passes and build up play, score, and win.”
On the other hand, Buxton Stars edged Monedderlust 1-0 via a Teshawn Gordon conversion in the 30th minute. Prior to the final, the third-place playoff between the Cougars and Monedderlust will occur at 19:00 hrs.
Complete Results
Game-1
Buxton Stars-1 vs Cougars-1
Buxton won 5-4 on sudden death penalty kicks
Buxton Stars scorer
Neil Hutson-58th
Cougars scorer
Lomar Reid-5th
Game-2
Buxton United-1 vs. Monedderlust-0
Teshawn Gordon-30th
