Lyons roar to victory

	28 April 2008
	VIDEO: Coundon Conservative 2-3 Hetton Lyons CC
	Watch hightlights of The Final from Anfield as Coundon Conservative looked to retain their title.

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Coundon Conservative 2-3 Hetton Lyons CC

The FA Carlsberg Sunday Cup
The Final
2pm, Sunday 27 April 2008
Anfield, Liverpool FC.
Winning club receives £2000

Hetton Lyons twice came from behind to claim The FA Carlsberg Sunday Cup at the expense of the holders Coundon Conservative.

Gary Pearson's 84th minute penalty ensured that Bradley Grove's side recorded a remarkable 3-2 victory at Anfield and gained revenge for their Second Round exit at the hands of the same opposition last season.

Coundon got off the perfect start, when after just two minutes Andrew Thompson struck a sweet free kick which took a slight deflection and left Hetton's goalkeeper with no chance.

But the underdogs hit back ten minutes later through the head of substitute Jamie Clarke who capitalised on a slip from the opposition goalkeeper.

Parity lasted barely 12 minutes however as Martin Houlahan, who scored both goals in the Semi-Final victory against Brantham Athletic, fired home from the edge of the area to restore Coundon's advantage.

Unabashed, Hetton clawed themselves back into contention ten minutes after the restart when Stuart Irvine expertly located the bottom corner with a fizzing drive from 25-yards.

Pearson then crashed home his spot-kick to complete the comeback and help the north-east side lift The Cup for the second time in three seasons.

Afterwards, delighted Hetton Secretary David Leitch praised his side's mental strength and paid tribute to their penalty hero Pearson, who he likened to Chelsea's Michael Ballack, after the German international scored an equally late penalty the day before to keep alive the Premier League title race.

He said: "It's been an absolutely fantastic experience winning here at Anfield again. We had to dig deep after going behind twice but I'm absolutely delighted.

"It was memorable the first time around but perhaps this is even better because of the way we did it coming from behind like that and getting a late win.

"I had no doubt Gary was going to score when he walked up to take the penalty. He obviously had been watching Ballack yesterday.

"He's got nerves of steel that boy. I don't think we have anybody who strikes the ball as cleanly as him and I was just so happy when it hit the back of the net."

Coundon Conservative Goals: Andrew Thompson 2, Martin Houlahan 24