‘Positives outweigh the negatives’ – Moneyfields crash out of the Wessex League Cup on penalties after remarkable 10-goal thriller at Shaftesbury

Glenn Turnbull’s depleted squad came from behind to level four times at Shaftesbury - Tom Cain’s injury time header making the final score 5-5 at foggy Cockrams.

Goalkeeper Tom Price and Rob Evans then both missed their spot-kicks as Shaftesbury claimed a semi-final place against lower tier Folland with a 4-2 shoot-out success on their 4G surface.

Moneys had forced penalties after trailing 4-2 at the interval. Striker Dec Seiden had twice levelled, direct from a free-kick and via a spot-kick dinked down the middle, before Shaftesbury took the third for the third time.

In increasingly misty conditions, James Franklyn and Joe Briggs struck to make it 4-4. Tyler Moret, on his first start of the season in the work-enforced absence of captain Steve Hutchings, then had an effort disallowed - much to Moneys’ frustration.

Shaftesbury took the lead for the fourth time in a rollercoaster tie, Asa Phillips netting his 23rd league and cup goal of the season, with Cain having the final say in one of the most amazing games of the 2021/22 Wessex League campaign.

Evans smacked his opening penalty over the bar and, after Seiden had converted his effort, Price stepped up to take Moneys’ third.

It was a ploy which had worked for US Portsmouth last season - the keeper scoring in three penalty shoot-outs (including one against a Christchurch side managed by current Shaftesbury boss Ollie Cherrett). But this time he fired his spot-kick against the post and, though Briggs netted Moneys’ fourth, Shaftesbury progressed to the last four.

Defensive woes have given Turnbull headaches all season and that was again the case against a Shaftesbury side who have now scored 103 goals in only 28 competitive games this season.

‘We’ve basically gifted them all their goals,’ rued the manager. ‘Through individual errors and not picking players up.

‘How can we go to Shaftesbury and score five goals, but not win the game?’

A ‘contentious’ moment for Moneys came when Moret saw the goal that would have put his side in front ruled out for offside.

‘I’m not saying it was or it wasn’t a goal,’ said Turnbull, ‘because I couldn’t see. I don’t know how the linesman could have seen where Tyler had started his run from.

‘The referee said to Ollie (Cherrett) and I at half-time and said if it (the mist) got any worse he’d pull it. I thought when we made it 4-4 he’d pull it then.

‘I don’t want it to come across that the disallowed goal changed everything, because that wasn’t the case. We were lucky to only be 4-2 down at half-time. It was just frustrating.

‘But I’m sure if Tyler’s goal had stood, it would have ended 6-6 - that’s just the sort of game it was.

‘The positives outweigh the negatives for me. We’ve opened up a very good side numerous times.

‘I was without 13 players and we’ve given a 16-year-old (Robbie Davis) and an 18-year-old (Sam Drew) their first team debuts in the second half. Luke Richards, at 21, was the oldest player on the bench.

‘Tyler’s got 80 minutes which is a massive plus and Dec scored two goals. I took a bit of flak for letting him play for the reserves the previous week (against Hayling, where he also scored twice) but I felt it was needed and he was full of confidence (at Shaftesbury).’

Turnbull was also full of praise for the Dorset club’s artificial surface. ‘It was perfect, the best I’ve ever seen,’ he remarked. ‘I said to Pete (Seiden, Moneys chairman) ‘please let ours be this good’.

‘Franko’s goal was really good, after about five or six passes - it’s just a shame nobody could really see it!’

Moneyfields are back on their travels on Tuesday with a Wessex Premier visit to Alresford.