Newton-le-Willows booked their place in the Presidents Cup final after an extraordinary penalty shootout victory over Poynton Reserves at Newton-le-Willows Sports Club.

After neither side could find a breakthrough during a tight and physical 90 minutes, the semi-final went straight to penalties, where an incredible 30 spot-kicks were needed to separate the two teams.

The opening half was a closely fought affair, with clear-cut opportunities at a premium.
Poynton threatened on 26 minutes when a free-kick from the left was delivered into the Newton box. The initial ball was only half-cleared to the edge of the area, where a Poynton player struck towards goal, but Matty Smith was well positioned to get his head to the effort and divert it over the crossbar.

Newton had strong appeals for a penalty shortly before the interval. Ben Mather beat his defender inside the area and appeared to have his shirt pulled as he went to ground, but the referee decided against awarding the foul.

That proved to be the final major incident of a physical first half in which neither side had been able to create a clear opening, sending the teams into the break at 0-0.

Newton began to find more opportunities after the restart.

On 57 minutes, Alex Barron was released down the left and made his way to the byline before finding Dan Hankinson inside the area. Hankinson couldn't make clean contact with his shot, but the scuffed effort proved awkward for the Poynton goalkeeper, who reacted well to push it wide.

From the resulting corner, Charlie Eden and Kristian Rapson combined neatly. Eden found Rapson with a short pass inside the box, but his effort went wide of the target.

Poynton responded seven minutes later. They worked the ball into the Newton area before an effort from a tight angle forced Alfie Speakman into a strong save at his near post, turning the ball behind.

As the game entered its closing stages, Newton began to carve out a succession of chances.

A long ball down the right on 81 minutes caused problems for the Poynton defence and allowed Nathan Wright to reach the byline. His ball into the middle found Ethan Appleby, but he couldn't make clean contact and the goalkeeper was able to gather.

Six minutes later, Hankinson picked up possession deep inside the Poynton half and found space opening up ahead of him. He drove towards goal before trying his luck from outside the area, but dragged his effort wide.

Ben Crowe was the next to have an opportunity in the 89th minute, finding himself in space outside the box with time to shoot, but his effort sailed over the crossbar.

Newton went even closer in stoppage time.
Cole Howlett collected the ball on the right in the 91st minute before cutting inside and beating two defenders. He unleashed a left-footed effort from outside the area that forced the Poynton goalkeeper into a good diving save to his left.

With no extra-time in this competition, the semi-final headed immediately to penalties.

An Extraordinary Shootout

With the scores still level after 90 minutes, the tie went straight to penalties.

Poynton took first and initially gained the upper hand after Cole Howlett hit the post with Newton's third penalty, but Kristian Rapson and Matty Smith converted before Poynton missed wide to bring Newton back level at 4-4.

As the shootout moved into sudden death, Alfie Speakman produced a crucial save, while further misses from both sides kept the contest alive.

The tension continued as several players were called upon for a second time. Dan Hankinson, Ash Hammond and Rapson all converted again for Newton, before Speakman made his second save of the shootout with the score locked at 10-10.

That left Smith with the chance to win it, and he made no mistake, converting his second penalty of the shootout to seal an extraordinary 11-10 victory and send Newton into the Presidents Cup final.

Newton will now face Winstanley FC in the Presidents Cup final, with the date and venue still to be confirmed.

After a hard-fought 90 minutes and an extraordinary 30-penalty shootout, Newton had finally found a way through and can now look forward to competing for the first silverware of the new season.

After a hard-fought 90 minutes and 30 penalties, Newton had finally found a way through.