Shirebrook Soldiers march on to cup final

After going 1-0 down, Soldiers were awarded a penalty, which was saved by the keeper.

However, the referee spotted an infringement and Soldiers had the chance to retake the penalty. There was no mistaking this time, as Ben Owen Charlesworth made it 1-1.

Still the opposition refused to wilter to the Soldiers’ pressure.

It was then the teams realised the referee was not going to allow any messing about, as he was soon dishing out yellow cards.

The second half began as the first half had ended, with both teams pressing and trying to find a weakness.

Then the referee again pointed to the spot and again Charlesworth stepped up to score, making it 2-1 to the Soldiers.

Halfway through the period, the referee showed a Soldiers player a red card, an obvious confidence booster to Cromford.

However, they still could not find away through a stubborn Soldiers defence, and the minutes ticked by.

With three minutes to play, it looked as if the Soldiers had blown it, as the ref again pointed to the spot, this time for a Cromford penalty.

However, the assistant referee had raised his flag and, after discussions between the two officials, the referee his decision, causing heartache to Cromford.

That was how it all ended, and a Soldiers team march on to another final. This time it is the Derbyshire Cup, after last year’s success in the NSL Final against Bestwood..

There was no player-of-the-match award, as the Soldiers team as a whole worked their socks off, to get over the line.