Berks & Bucks Senior Trophy
Final
Didcot Town 2 Milton Keynes City 0
Saturday, 26 April 2003
Didcot Town beat Spartan South Midlands League outfit Milton Keynes City 2-0 at the Loop Meadow Stadium on Saturday to claim the Berks & Bucks Senior Trophy for only the second time in the club?s history. It was an impressive performance against a side that had knocked out both Thatcham Town and AFC Newbury in previous rounds.
Milton Keynes started off at a furious pace and almost opened the scoring in the 5th minute. Danny Clarke broke on the left and only a brave challenge from Andy Cooper prevented Micky Lyon from having a clear shooting chance. Two minutes later Didcot?s Paul Bedwell was booked for a dangerous two-footed challenge on Danny Hart as tempers threatened to boil over. In the 10th minute only the linesman?s flag saved Town from falling behind after Kevin Hyde had poked the ball home from close range. Lyon was then booked for a bad challenge on Bedwell as both sides tried to impose themselves during the opening exchanges. It was Milton Keynes who were creating most of the early chances and a clever free-kick resulted in Tony Hill driving a dangerous shot across the penalty box in the 20th minute. That served as a wake-up call and Didcot grabbed the lead shortly after with their first effort on target. Midfielder Jamie Heapy cut inside from the left and unleashed an unstoppable shot from 22 yards past keeper Chris Connell. It took Town only four minutes to double the advantage. Terry Morrisey produced the pass of the match to find Ian Concannon in the box and the Hellenic League?s top scorer made no mistake clipping the ball past Connell into the corner of the net. A fantastic tackle by Keith Brady prevented Concannon from adding another just past the half hour mark as Didcot threatened to run away with it. As the first period drew to a close Bedwell came within inches of scoring as Milton Keynes failed to clear a corner. The last action of the half saw Brady missing a good chance from only 5 yards out as City continued to look dangerous at set pieces.
Half Time: 2-0
Despite playing into a brisk wind in the second half, Didcot produced a solid defensive display after the interval and never looked like relinquishing their two-goal advantage. In the 67th minute a brilliant Town move involving Bedwell and Concannon set-up Morrisey who put a side-foot shot narrowly past the far post. Another smart move saw Lee Newport and Damien Oglesby combine to give Concannon a good opportunity but this time he lofted his shot harmlessly over the bar with Connell stranded. Milton Keynes rarely threatened as the game went on but Cooper had to be alert to block Hyde?s low shot in the 72nd minute. Didcot substitute Rod Dorrian released fellow sub Dwaine Strong with ten minutes remaining but despite losing his marker, Strong could only blast his shot high and wide from a good position. City?s frustration finally came to the surface in the closing stages as Lyon received his marching orders after an ugly lunge at Parsons. Strong then nearly added a third in stoppage time but Stuart Milne blocked his low shot.
Jubilant scenes greeted the final whistle and Didcot had deservedly earned their first silverware of the season.
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