06-05-2025
Cassiobury Rangers lift Sunday league Challenge Cup for first time
Cassiobury Rangers celebrate their Challenge Cup triumph. (Image: Supplied)
2023-24 Eric Hand Challenge Cup Final
The Watford Sunday League's oldest trophy has new winners after Cassiobury Rangers defeated North Watford 6-5 on penalties after a thrilling 90 minutes had ended 2-2.
Rangers bounced back from the disappointment of defeat in the Chairman's Cup Final seven days previously to take the trophy but they were pushed all the way by the new Herts Senior Cup winners and league champions for a fourth straight season.
A snap for the Cassiobury Rangers club photo album. (Image: Supplied) It was Rangers who started fastest and they went ahead after seven minutes when man-of-the-match Corey Botten raced through the North Watford defence from the right-hand side and slid the ball under the advancing David Brown just inside the far post.
Four minutes later Botten almost doubled the lead when a curled free-kick was tipped away superbly by Brown.
North Watford then started to impose themselves on the game, with Mohammed Ali Khan and Gurkan Gokman causing the Rangers defence plenty of problems, and after 31 minutes Gokman was brought down just inside the area for a penalty, but he fired the spot-kick high over the bar.
His side did pull level three minutes before the break though, when they were awarded another penalty. This time Ashley Lewis took responsibility and he made no mistake.
North Watford then had a dream start to the second half, when just 30 seconds after the restart centre-back Daryl Brown spotted Rangers keeper Zak Green off his line and his long-range effort from just inside his own half dropped into the net.
Four minutes later Sam Afelobi almost put North Watford 3-1 ahead but his low shot from the edge of the area came back off the left-hand post and bounced away to safety.
Twelve minutes into the second half, Rangers drew level after Nathan Page broke down the left and pulled the ball back from the by-line low to the near post for Myles Shahidi to score from close range.
Rangers had the better of the exchanges for the remainder of the half, although North Watford also had their chances to win it, but the two teams couldn't be separated after 90 minutes, so for the first time in the league's history the final went straight to a penalty shoot-out rather than extra-time being played first.
The penalties from both sides were all expertly taken, with the first ten kicks finding the net and so the shoot-out went to sudden death.
Rangers' Aidan Lesslie scored the 11th spot-kick, meaning it was down to Afelobi to keep his side's hopes alive, but he fired over the bar.
Cassiobury Rangers: Green, Callanan, McDougall (Shahidi 90+4), Botten, Craggs, Burch, Shahidi (Lesslie 71), Mortimer, Henley (Osunsedo 61), Hamilton, Page. Subs not used: Chamberlain, R. Ladmore, M. Ladmore.
North Watford: A. Enajar, Speer, Afelobi, Mullane, Khan, Gladdy, Y. Enajar, Lewis, Gokman. Subs not used: Ahmed, Fowlie, Stalboushin, Alexander.
Trophy time: Rangers hold the Challenge Cup aloft. (Image: Supplied)
Division One
Champions Forza Watford ended the season with a 3-1 win over St Joseph's Reserves.
The scores were level at half-time after Mitchell Tearle equalised with a back-post header for Joes Reserves.
Forza's goals came from Giuseppe Delgaudio, with a brace, and one from Braden Pope.
Division Two
Hertfordshire Athletic gained the required three points to take the title, although it would have taken a 21-0 defeat for them to lose it.
They were made to fight for the three points by Watford Youth Sports 2nd though, before running out 4-3 winners.
Sports, who have finished the season in third place, held a 2-1 lead at the break, after Deion Lowe and Oliver Frost had scored either side of a Matt Ingram effort.
In the second half, Chris Frater slipped in Josh Greengrow, who slotted past the keeper to level the game, and Athletic then took the lead five minutes later with an almost identical finish as Ed Rogers played in Jack McLaughlin to convert.
The fourth goal came when Tom West found Daniel Linfield who controlled the ball before firing past the keeper for his first of the season.
Sports pulled back a goal late on through Gabriel Wright.
