Lincoln United missed the chance to complete a treble as they lost 2-0 to Eynesbury Rovers in the UCL Knockout Cup final.
The Whites were searching for their third piece of silverware of the campaign after Lincolnshire County Trophy victory over Bourne Town and claiming the title and promotion in April.
They had reached the league cup final, hosted at the Haydon Witham Stadium, after defeating local rivals Newark Town 1-0 in the semi-finals.
Opponents Eynesbury Rovers had finished 5th in the southern equivalent of Lincoln’s division. They were hoping to pick themselves back up after a 5-0 loss to Aylestone Park in the play-off semi-finals.
Scott Hellewell named a strong team with full intent to bring the trophy back to Lincoln, with the injured Sean Wright being the only notable absentee.
A slow start to the cup final:
The first chance of the game came as Jack Varley whipped in a dangerous ball on five minutes. It was narrowly diverted away from the head of Henry Moore who was ready to head home.
Instead though it was Eyenesbury who hit the front with their first real attack of the game. Oskar Clach produced some neat footwork to find Dan Hammer in the penalty area. The defender prodded a shot goalwards and it nestled into the bottom corner to give Rovers an early lead.
The Whites responded well to going behind, playing mainly in the Eynesbury half. Though their attempts to break down the Rovers backline were often disrupted by a bobbly pitch.
The first half Lincoln frustrations were summed up as Jack McMenemy headed over after 25 minutes, should he have left the cross Josh Batty would have had a tap in.
Eynesbury were then the ones who doubled their advantage just before the half hour mark. A brilliant driving run from Victor Osobu set up Clach to shoot from close range. A brilliant Jack Steggles save denied him but Max Kimpton was there to thunder in the rebound, and it was 2-0.
A burnt out Lincoln United:
A clever piece of link up between McMenemy and Tristian Drummond allowed the full-back to come across the face of goal in first half stoppage time. Stevan Shaw nearly diverted it into his own net but it sailed inches over to keep it 2-0 at half-time.
The quiet start to the second-half suited Eynesbury, who looked comfortable in their lead.
Tom Hipwell’s season was then brought to an abrupt end as he limped off with a knee issue, Louis Boyd replaced him. Signs were certainly there that Lincoln United were a tired team who had been playing competitive matches since last July.
Osobu turned and tested the reactions of Steggles just after the hour mark. The Whites shot-stopper got down well to his left to keep it out.
Batty had their best opportunity of the game after 76 minutes, he arrived late onto a good cross from Varley. His header was well held by James Hoskins in the Rovers net.
After a lull in the game, Eynesbury were awarded a penalty with three minutes to play. Dummond caught Clach late in the box and the referee had no hesitation pointing to the spot.
He picked himself back up to take the spot kick with a chance to put a cherry on the cake for his side. His effort though clipped the crossbar and flew over, keeping the score to 2-0.
No treble for The Whites in promotion season:
Referee Jack DeSchoolmeester blew the full time whistle in Market Deeping and it was greeted by cheers from the Eynesbury supporters who had made the trip north to see their side claim cup success.
It was a result that concluded a historic season for Lincoln United, albeit in slightly disappointing fashion.
Promotion though was the target prior to the 2024/25 campaign for Scott Hellewell and his players, and with that and a County Cup secured, the league cup was a step too far.
The Whites will now have a well earned rest before preparing for their first season back in step four since 2023.
Was that really the referees name jack Descoolmasterr
That is what it said on the teamsheet! – Jamie