BEN WHITE struck twice as Langley defeated Chalvey (WMC) Sports Reserves 4-2 to win the Ascot & District (Fielden) Charity Cup.

Gary Ashton and Raj Gill were also on target before Chalvey pulled two goals back through Alfie Clark and Matt Carroll.

But, a hard-fought final, played on Bracknell Town’s 3G pitch on Wednesday last week, ended on a sour note.

Between the final whistle and the players receiving their medals comments were made to the match officials which led to Chalvey skipper Matt Blakely and assistant manager Bradley O’Brien both being shown the red card by referee Ben Duffill.

Duffill had earlier cautioned Blakely for dissent during this all-East Berkshire League clash that was never a dull affair.

Langley were the classier side, particularly in attack, but Chalvey showed plenty of desire and determination, which was underlined by their late fight-back.

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PHOTO: Langley celebrate with the Ascot & Fielden Cup.

John Thirkell’s men took the lead in the 24th minute through Ashton’s header following good work by White and influential midfielder Paolo Cicero.

Chalvey came within a whisker of equalising with Dan Gaut’s free-kick from just outside the area striking the woodwork.

White made it 2-0 after 34 minutes with a long-range shot from wide out on the left, and only the post prevented Cicero adding a third before half-time.

But, Langley did not have to wait long in the second half to extend their advantage, with Gill scoring three minutes after the resumption and White quickly making it 4-0.

However, to their credit, Chalvey never gave up and their persistence paid off with two excellent goals - Clark, with a long-range shot, in the 55th minute and substitute Carroll following a quick counter-attack, made it 4-2 on 70 minutes, moments after Langley had wasted a chance to net a fifth.

Carroll had a good opportunity to reduce the deficit even further, but he shot straight at Rourke Pickford when he had only the keeper to beat.

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PHOTO: Langley coach Peter Phillips (left) and manager John Thirkell (right) celebrate the win.

“We sat back a bit and got a bit complacent,” admitted Langley skipper Cicero. “But, overall we worked really hard and deserved to win. I’m pleased for the lads as they’re a good bunch.”

Chalvey manager Carl Feasey commented: “We left ourselves too much to do in the first half. One goal was class, but defensively we switched off.

“In the second half, we started way too slow and gave away two soft goals.

“Most sides when 4-0 down would have felt embarrassed and may have rolled over, but we didn’t. We rolled our sleeves up, but came up short in the end.”

He added: “This team is full of character and we will come again.”

Before the kick-off, there was a minute’s silence in memory of Peter Floyd, the competition’s president, who passed away during the winter.

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