Crookham Rovers U18 Sharks secured their place in the final of the Hampshire Cup with a hard-fought 4-3 victory away to Havant & Waterlooville.
The visitors made a blistering start and were ahead inside two minutes. Alfie opened the scoring with a run onto a through ball & slotted it under the keeper setting the tone for an entertaining semi-final.
Henry then doubled Crookham’s advantage with his first of the afternoon with a great header from a CJ free kick before the hosts hit back, leaving the Sharks 2-1 up at the interval.
Shortly after the restart the home team levelled before Henry grabbed his second goal of the game to restore Crookham’s cushion, sliding home from close range after excellent work from Alfie, whose cross picked him out perfectly in the box.
sustained attacking pressure from Rovers forced a fourth goal when a dangerous delivery into the area was turned into the net by a home defender for an own goal, making it 4-2.
Havant & Waterlooville refused to lie down and mounted a comeback & set up a tense finale by pulling another goal back with three minutes remaining, but Crookham stood firm to seal an impressive 4-3 away win.
Crookham Rovers manager James Amero praised his side’s character and sharpness after the final whistle.
“I’m incredibly proud of the lads,” said Amero. “We haven’t played for several weeks, so to come here in the cup and put in that level of performance was outstanding. We started quickly, took our chances well and showed real togetherness when they came back at us. It was a great team effort from start to finish.”
The Sharks now look ahead to the final, buoyed by a confidence-boosting victory on the road.