TREBLE-CHASERS St Neots Town followed up on their UCL title-winning success by defeating Ives 2-0 at Jubilee Park on Monday to retain the Hunts Senior Cup.

Hunts Senior Cup final

St Ives Town 0 St Neots Town 2

TREBLE-CHASERS St Neots Town followed up on their UCL title-winning success by defeating Ives 2-0 at Jubilee Park on Monday to retain the Hunts Senior Cup.

Hitman Shane Tolley fired Neots in front from close range just 90 seconds in, before shooting home a late penalty to secure the triumph and also took him to 54 goals for the season.

Dan Jacob struck the bar for St Neots in the second period, with the post keeping out a 25-yard Ozie Foster effort for St Ives.

Neots also had Lewis Webb sent off for a second caution on 77 minutes.

Manager Dennis Greene felt his side just about deserved it – but said Ives more than played their part in a game spoilt by some fussy refereeing and a blustery wind.

“The difference between the two sides was, ultimately, our quality in certain areas and the fact we took our chances,” he said.

“The hardest thing was trying to score and, because conditions were so poor, it was hard to create a chance and even harder to finish it.

“St Ives were always in the game but I think, in the end, we were deserved winners after what was a very scrappy game.”

Greene did, however, concede his side may have been a tad fortunate to be awarded a penalty on 83 minutes, when defender Dan Newman was adjudged to have brought down Stefan Moore inside the box – although the decision looked debatable.

“Stefan’s bought it in a sense, but that’s what he’s good at,” admitted Greene.

“It was hard to see from where we were stood and there was obviously contact, but it looked one of them that could go either way.

“But whether he went into the defender’s foot and took the tackle, I don’t know.”

Although Webb’s sending off late on – a second yellow for a rash body check on David Cobb – was the right decision by the letter of the law, six yellow cards and a barrage of stoppages spoilt the match and owed to a lack of “common sense” according to Greene.

“The referee [Ian Wilson] was being assessed and, as it was a cup final, he did everything by the book,” said the Neots manager

“It just seemed to me that minimal contact was a free-kick everywhere on the park and the whistle blowing every 10 seconds made a flowing game impossible.

“Sometimes common sense should prevail but that didn’t happen.”

Neots will now look to complete a trophy treble on Friday night when they return to Jubilee Park to face UCL Division One champions AFC Kempston Rovers in the Hinchingbrooke Cup final.

St Ives: Conroy-Owen, Duncliffe, Cobb, Newman, Phillips, Dear, Foster, Ellison, Washington (Fielding), Matson, Bannister (Read).

St Neots: Trebes, D Moore, Hyem, Webb, Fuff, Fordham (Gent), Davies, Hilliard, S Moore, Tolley, Jacob.