Coventry Sphinx 3 Whitchurch Alport 3

(Alport win 4–2 on penalties)

There have been some amazing finales in modern football history. At the top level there was Manchester United winning the Champions League with two late strikes seeing off Bayern Munich, and what about their city rivals pouncing against QPR with Sergio Aguero the man who wrote his name into City folklore with a 96th minute winner snatching the title away from United? But anyone who was present in Coventry today would arguably make Alport’s stunning victory away at Coventry Sphinx stand alongside them; certainly in nonleague terms. 3–1 down at half-time with only 10 men, the Reds somehow managed to turn the game onto its head scoring with a penalty just one minute from the end of the game to take it into penalties. Stand-up and take a bow Mr. Alex Hughes. The local lad hit a stunning hat-trick taking his season’s tally up to 26 goals!

Alport fans – who easily outnumbered the home support – were chewing their nails early doors with the hosts missing a number of chances which would have made things very difficult for Whitchurch had they been taken. After 14 minutes though, the deadlock was finally broken when Matthew Shipman put Sphinx ahead with a free header past Ellis. But just two minutes later the Reds levelled with Hughesy sending the keeper the wrong way from a penalty. Coventry were awarded a spot kick of their own 10 minutes before half-time and George Carpenter was red carded in the same incident – apparently given for handball. It looked like a game changer and when the pen was converted things looked tough for the away side. The last thing they needed was to concede another but it came in first half stoppage time with Shipman scoring his second of the afternoon.

Alport needed to regroup and had to score the next goal or it was curtains. Coventry retained that two-goal cushion until the 74th minute when Alex scored from an acute angle. Game on! Bang on 90 minutes and it was Hughesy again who is always ice cool and deadly from 12 yards. Without a bead of sweat on his brow he nonchalantly placed the ball into the corner of the net with the goalkeeper again sent the wrong way. Alport fans were going mental and some 200 Salopians now had the jitters of a penalty shootout to see if their team could prevail after looking out for the count at the midway stage.

Ivan scored first but with our second kick Jack Griffiths fired wide of the left-hand post. But far from giving Coventry a boost it had the opposite effect when their next penalty was blazed wildly over the bar. Jimmy Garlick, Kieran Lazenby and then – after another sky-blue player had clobbered the post – it was left to Alex to settle the tie and put Whitchurch Alport into the quarter-finals of the FA Vase!

This was definitely one of those ‘I was there’ moments and in years to come they will be discussing this game in pubs right through the town. Put simply, this was a Herculean effort from everyone connected with the club – the supporters, the backroom staff, the management, all of our fantastic volunteers, but mostly to this fantastic group of players who are starting to believe that this ‘Roy of the Rovers’ story might, just might happen. Fantastic!