CHALLENGE CUP: Last-gasp Rich seals back to back cup wins for Carnforth

Captain fantastic Stan Rich said he was struggling to put into words the feeling of leading his Carnforth Rangers side to their second successive Challenge Cup win.

The towering centre-half powered home a 94th minute header from a corner to seal a dramatic 2-1 win over Chipping at Longridge’s Mike Riding Ground.

His aerial ability also helped keep Chipping at bay in a rip-roaring second-half that could have swung either way.

Carnforth took the lead on 62 minutes, Dan Mardell heading in at the back post.

Joe Melling pulled Chipping level on 76 minutes with a 25-yarder into the top corner.

Then deep into stoppage time, Rich rose highest to crash a header just over the line.

Asked to describe the feeling of being the matchwinner, Rich said: “I can’t sum it up to be fair. Scoring for my home town…it’s some feeling. What a buzz.

“Credit to the lads, that was some shift and Chipping were a quality side.

“We set up to be quite defensive in our shape and they struggled to break us down.

"When we got the goal we thought we could hold them off and it took a screamer from their winger to put the cat among the pigeons and we had to dig deep to get the winner.”

Proud manager Ian Hughes admitted he thought the final clash was set for the lottery of penalties before Rich’s intervention.

“I had already identified the five takers and yes Stan, you were one of them,” he laughed.

“Stan and Ben Blackburn were outstanding at the back. In fact, all of the lads put a massive shift in and it took a determined header there to get the win.”

And he hopes the cup win will now be the catalyst for a promotion tilt next season in Division One.

“It’s been a little bit mixed this season.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries, some lads have left the club to play at a higher level and we’ll regroup in the summer and give it a push for promotion next season.”

Referee: Dale Wilson
Assistants: Joe Collier and Callum Hayes
Fourth official: Aron Shatwell

Att: 367

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