Penalty pain for Hendon

By Peter Butcher

THREE of the five League Cup ties yesterday (Wednesday) were decided in penalties after 2-2 draws, and in all three of them the supposed underdogs came back from 2-0 down.

Hendon may be taking penalty practice after failing to convert a single kick in their shoot-out with 2009 cup winners Tilbury.

Jack Mazzone scored twice in the first half for the Premier club but the visiting Dockers fought back with goals from two men signed earlier in the day, ex-Harlow player Tony Jacobs and, five minutes from time, former Brentwood striker Sherwin Stanley (Pictured by Gavin Ellis/TGS Photo).

The Ryman North promotion-chasers then converted their first three spot-kicks while their hosts blundered.

Another Premier side to forfeit a two-goal lead against lower-division opposition were Kingstonian. Byron Napper put them ahead after 32 minutes at Folkestone and Kieran Murphy added another four minutes later.

Joe Lester halved the deficit three minutes after the break but K’s then hung on until the 90th minute, when Richard Atkins snatched the equaliser. The comeback was in vain, though, as K’s won the shoot-out 4-2.

Tooting, bottom of Ryman South, must have feared the worst at Herne Bay when the home side, third in the division, scored twice in the first seven minutes. Jordan Abgajae headed the opener with 46 seconds on the clock and George Landais scored the second. Tooting, though, had the better of things after that and were rewarded when Taurean Roberts struck twice in three minutes just after the hour mark.

Again, though, the fightback came to nothing. Veteran former Premiership star Jamie Lawrence blazed Tooting’s first kick over the bar and was relieved when Darren Behcet saved Bay’s fifth kick, taken by Landais. But Behcet had his own kick saved by Dan Eason and Bay won 7-6.

Dulwich just averted a fourth shoot-out when Erkan Oztumer grabbed an 88thth-minute goal to give them a 2-1 victory at Eastbourne. Matt Geard had given Eastbourne the lead from the spot after 53 minutes and Frankie Sawyer replied ten minutes later.

A single penalty settled the other tie. Greg Cohen converted it after 27 minutes and Ryman North side Brentwood held on to win 1-0 at Enfield Town of the Premier.

Where next?

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