The first round of the FA Cup 2024/25 experienced some great thrilling matches. One of those matches was Hednesford Town vs Gainsborough Trinity.
Gainsborough made a stunning comeback from 3-0 to end the 90-minute match with a 3-3 scoreline. Later, both teams scored one goal each in the extra time to make the scoreline 4-4, and the penalty shoot-out was required to play the decider role of the match. The penalty shootout was stretched to the nine rounds as Gainsborough won by a 4-5 shootout scoreline.
Here we will see the match summary along with the reason that made the victory so special for Gainsborough.
Hednesford Town were leading by 3-0 at 64 minutes
In the fourth minute, Manny Duku provided the lead for the hosts Hednesford Town.
Omar Holness made the scoreline 2-0 for the Pitmen with a stunning goal as his outside-the-box shot beat the goalkeeper by managing the top of the goal.
In the fourth minute of the second half, Dominic McHale made the scoreline 3-0 for Hednesford Town. While the visiting defender didn’t clear the cross properly, McHale grabbed the opportunity with a strong shot from inside the box.
Till 64 minutes, Hednesford Town made the scoreline 3-0. However, Declan Howe struck the first goal for the visitors in the 65th minute. It was just the beginning of the thriller.
In the 77th minute, Howe scored his second goal of the match, as the scoreline was 3-2.
Equaliser came in the stoppage time
In the fourth minute of stoppage time, William Lancaster scored another great goal of the match to make the scoreline 3-3. His powerful shot from outside the box found the net after beating the goalie.
Hednesford once again failed to hold the lead in the extra time
In the fifth minute of extra time, Hednesford earned a 4-3 lead after McHale netted for the second time in the match. Javelle Clarke scored the equaliser of the match in the 19th minute of extra time.
Lots of ups and downs in the shootout
The penalty shootout was also dramatic. Hednesford were leading by 2-1 at the end of the third round for both. The fourth round ended with the shootout scoreline of 3-2 for Hednesford. Before the beginning of the sudden-death penalty shootout, the shootout scoreline was 3-3.
While both teams scored the first attempt of the sudden-death, their next two respective kicks missed to add anything to the scoreline. In their fourth attempt of the sudden-death, which was also the ninth round of the penalty shootout, Blaine Rowe missed out on target while the visitors’ Jordan Helliwell secured a remarkable victory for Gainsborough.
Why the win was so special for Gainsborough?
With the victory, Gainsborough reached the FA Cup second round for the first time in 72 years. So, the win was very special for the Trinity.
