Both teams started brightly with plenty of open flowing football. Sam Hollis was the first to threaten for St.Andrews when he came close to opening the scoring after 22 minutes. This seemed to spark Hinckley United into life and after 25 minutes, Joseph Lyne was on hand at the far post to volley home the opening goal. A couple of minutes later Armavir Sandhu came close to heading the second for United only for Ryan Hodkins to come close for St Andrews at the other end. As half time approached, St Andrews felt they had claims for a penalty but the claims were waved away. The referee was more sympathetic to their appeals however early in the second half when Blair Hickey went down in the area and Elliot Pitman netted the resultant penalty to level the game. This spurred United into taking a stranglehold on the game and after having a goal disallowed on 54 minutes, Liam Canavan came close to giving United the lead a minute later. Chances continued to come and go with both defences playing well to keep the scores level. United’s pressure finally told after 70 minutes when after good work from Joseph Lyne, Liam Canavan finished clinically to give United the lead again. This spurred St Andrews into action and United keeper Taylor McMillan needed to be at his best in the 75th minute to deny St. Andrews another equaliser. With 4 minutes of added time at the end of the game, the cup was decided in injury time when Harry Solomons outpaced the tiring St. Andrews defence to slam the ball home to give United a deserved 3-1 win.
Chairman Mike Sutton watched on as skipper Jon Onyeaka lifted the trophy and expressed his gratitude to the Development staff for the professional way in which the lads had prepared and dealt with the final. “These lads are the future of Hinckley United and they have represented the club tonight with pride and passion and great skill. We have made a decision as a board to commit resources to ensure the future of Hinckley United and after a night like tonight, it becomes clear that decision is paying off already. The success tonight comes from the efforts of all the Development staff and all of the players involved, including those who maybe didn’t play tonight, and also in no small way to the parents of the lads who I know make continual sacrifices to ensure the lads are available for training and matches.”

Hinckley United U18 Squad for the Final:
1.Taylor McMillan 2. Callum Riley 3. Jordan Mellon 4. Jamie Newton 5. Jarred Acton 6. Jon Onyeaka 7. Jake Abbott 8. Joseph Lyne 9. Matthew Pemberton 10. Mussa Yussuf 11. Amarvir Sandhu 12. Harry Solomons 14. Luke Kingsley-Smith 15. Nathan Root 16. Liam Canavan 21. Will Highland.

The photograph shows a delighted Matthew Pemberton with the trophy after the game. More photos and video to follow.