Thomas seal’s Pier cup success
Gary Thomas ran the length of the Queensgate pitch in the 90th minute to head past Filey keeper David Tonks and wrap up a 1-0 victory.
This sealed an end-to-end thriller that left Pier boss Andy Spivey and his players gasping for breath.
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Hide AdSpivey said: “I’m glad it didn’t go to extra-time because my heart wouldn’t have taken it.
“It was a great game of football that could have gone either way. Where Gary got that energy from in the 90th minute of the game I will never know.
“All of our lads did well on the night, but I want to give Martin Cooper a mention because I thought he was outstanding.
“We wanted to win the league, but Newlands nipped in ahead of us and Filey. Winning the District Cup is the next best thing.”
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Hide AdIt may have been scoreless until the last seconds of the game, but on another night there could have been an avalanche of goals.
Play swung from end to end in the opening minutes, as Pier’s Luke Delve headed just wide, before the ball fell to Filey’s Cameron Dobson six yards from goal, but his deflected strike flew over.
Pier began to take control in the minutes that followed, with Neil Thomas pulling the strings in the middle of the park.
Both of Pier’s best chances in this period fell to Ali Caw, who bent just wide of the Filey post and then had an effort pushed away by keeper Tonks.
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Hide AdFiley created the best opportunity of the half on 25 minutes when Phil Dickens rose highest in the box and arrowed a header at goal. James Wardle flung himself across the line and somehow nodded it clear.
Dickens had another great opportunity in the final seconds of the first period, but his angled header sailed just past the post.
Pier had another lucky escape at the start of the second half, when keeper Kyle Scaife failed to hold onto a cross. Dobson’s over-head kick was heading into the net, before it was hacked to safety.
Pier were still a threat though, with Gaz Thomas heading across the face of goal, before Delve went even closer when he met the ball from five yards.
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Hide AdNeil Thomas was unlucky not to break the deadlock with 10 minutes left on the clock, as he unleashed a volley from the edge of the box that crashed off the bar.
Filey stepped through the gears in the final few minutes, with the pace of sub Darren Clough causing an issue or two.
The closest they came was when centre-back Chris Duley spun in the box and lashed an effort just wide.
Pier recovered immediately from this, with a swift and incisive break giving them the all-important breakthrough.
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Hide AdThomas sprinted from box to box to rise above the Filey defence and head home a cross from the right.
Pier then had to survive a last-minute barrage, which brought Filey a hair’s-bredth away from producing a leveller.
Spivey’s men held firm though for the last few seconds, to secure the win and make sure of the silverware.