THE penalty-saving prowess of goalkeeper Steve Sumner saw Tenbury Town make progress in the HFA?Junior Cup, a competition in which they have been losing finalists in both the last two seasons.
Bob Sumner’s side emerged 5-4 first-round winners in the penalty decider when goalkeeper Sumner guessed correctly to save Holme Lacy’s fifth kick.
The two teams has been locked together at 4-4 after extra time, with Town having cause to rue letting a 2-0 lead slip after goals from Mark Boucker and Declan Bright, the latter’s a magical virtuoso effort that saw him beat several players and score from a tight angle.
Holme Lacy responded with a penalty but a Stuart Skidmore header restored Town’s two-goal cushion before half-time.
The visitors came out fired up in the second half and two scrappy goals tied things up at 3-3. They then took the lead for the first time in the extra period, but Boucker quickly levelled to force penalties.
Boss Sumner said: "For a neutral it was probably a great game to watch. It had goals, great football and plenty of action. For a manager though it was tough.
“Watching your team dominate then fall foul to the 2-0 syndrome is hard. I thought we had it won at 3-1 but I was confident in the shoot-out as we have some good penalty takers and Steve has a good penalty-saving record.”
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