Croydon Athletic 3-1 Kingstonian
K'S HIT BY RAM-RAID

Two goals in the last minutes saw Kingstonian go out of their final cup match of the season in a fiercely contested match at Croydon.

Trailing by a goal early on the visitors equalised after the half-hour only to fall to two goals in the last 12 minutes as both sides also failed to score from the spot in the first half.

With quite a few of the first team in the squad, it was Craig Mullens' cross in from the right after a pass upfield by Rob Sheridan that found Bobby Traynor almost alone in the area and rounding the defence he shot in low at close range after 37 minutes.

That ought to have been his second as he was upended minutes earlier by the opposing skipper Richard Blackwell in the area. But shooting low to the right keeper Ross Flitney guessed right and dived onto the ball to deny Traynor what should have been the equaliser.

The game started with the home side shooting out of the starting blocks. A free kick on the edge of the area in the seventh minute saw former Arsenal player Ian Selley strike the ball in past Luke Garrard at full stretch. And within minutes it could have been two. First Sam Clayton saw his shot go just over and then Jon Coke blocked a shot from Shabazz Baidoo from a Shelley corner.

Then at the other end Traynor was brought down by Blackwell only for Traynor to see his spot kick saved well by the keeper. Flitney was soon back in action as he stopped a shot from 15 yards by Mullen, after Tom Dilloway pounced on a loose ball from a rebound by Clement James.

Another shot, this time from further out, by Mullen was also saved by Flitney; but at the other end Garrard was also called into action as he had to punch away a shot by Ben Godfrey on the half hour.

Back at the right end Traynor then made amends for his saved penalty when he outfoxed the defence from Mullen's cross. Again Mullen then found Traynor but this time a lapse of concentration found the ball taken off Sheridan at the last minute. And a further shot at the end of the 45 was easily taken by Flitney.

A counter attack, launched by Flitney, saw Selley denied this time by Coke on the line before a scramble in the area saw the ball escape.

The second half saw no relapse as both continued the derby dogfight. First Michael Gordon was denied point blank by the brave Garrard, out of goal, after Clayton pushed the ball up from the defence and then Clayton denied a goal from another goal area melee when Mullen's shot straight at Flitney. Immediately Clayton then charged solo up the other end before being stopped by Garrard.

The home side then had a series of chances denied or wasted, culminating in Jamie Beer losing out on a challenge in the area to Clayton who fell. Clayton then dusted himself off and shot the penalty over the bar.

Still Croydon rammed home their advantage with Godfrey shooting weakly out from a pinpoint cross by Baidoo. At the other end Mullen shot over from 25 yards in the 75th minute before Baidoo settled the tie when sub Tom Bolarinwa crossed the ball beyond Garrard and Baidoo slotted in.

Almost immediately Clement James shot wide past Flitney and the post and then Mullen failed to capitalise on a cross from Tommy Williams. And a Simon Huckle cross in from a corner went too far ahead of Max Hustwick coming in.

And then in the last minute it was a third for Croydon as they sealed a far from emphatic win when Bolarinwa shot below a diving Garrard. A chance by Godfrey and NJ Lampton at both ends in injury time only highlighted this point.

So after 13 cup matches in five different competitions, starting in sunny Shoreham in August, Ks now only have the league to concentrate on. For many that is the most important but a place in any final would have been welcome. There is always next season.