REAL Milan completed a cup double this season after a hard-fought 2-1 win against a hard-working and battling Datchet Village side in the Bob Smith Trophy final.

Cheyenne Cripps grabbed a late winner at The Runnymede Stadium, Egham last Thursday to ensure Milan ended the season with more silverware.

The final was originally scheduled for Holloways Park but a new date and venue was confirmed after the home of Beaconsfield SYCOB was waterlogged back in March.

Milan went into the match having already retained the Roy Lester Cup and were big favourites to win the first-ever meeting between the two clubs in a cup final, though the league games were close encounters.

Before the match, Milan had plenty of dilemmas around their team selection and again chose to go with captain Riccardo Cannon to lead the line up front.

They started the game on the front foot and winger Cripps saw a chance go wide before a weak effort from top scorer Calvin Morgan was comfortably saved by the Datchet keeper.

Datchet always looked dangerous on the break and nearly caught Milan out when Barry Dunbar was put clean through on goal but fine keeping from Hassan Hussain denied him, saving smartly with his legs.

Real Milan finally broke the deadlock 10 minutes before half-time when a Conrad Joseph corner was headed in by man-of-the-moment Cannon, who showed his qualities in a big game to rise highest and head home his fourth cup final goal this season.

Milan had chances to double their lead before the break as Joseph went close with a 20-yard strike before Kyle Jeffrey had a header cleared off the line.

Slough Observer:

PHOTO: Zufran Asghar of Real Milan celebrates with the Roy Lester and Bob Smith silverware won this season.

Real Milan knew a clean sheet in the second-half would see them lift the cup, but Datchet came out fired up and replied straight away when Dunbar broke clear past the defence and then slotted the ball underneath Hussain.

It was a great solo effort from the forward who deserved the goal and levelled up the final.

Milan regrouped and got their play back on track as Cannon was thwarted by a smart save from the Datchet keeper and substitute Nadir Shafi went close with a vicious shot from 20-yards after beating two defenders.

However, they did find the net moments later when man-of-the-match Joseph played a cute reverse pass into Cripps, who drove into the box before hitting a left-foot shot that took a wicked deflection off a Datchet defender to wrong-foot the keeper.

Cripps fully deserved his goal after working tirelessly throughout the game.

Milan then had Hussain to thank for keeping them in front when he pulled off a brilliant double save, first a shot from the edge of the box and then the rebound from point-blank range.

Real Milan looked in control after introducing Umar Riaz as a late substitute. The midfielder settling his side with some calm passing and then pushing the team forward in attack.

Milan had some chances to kill the game off as Jeffrey, Cannon and Joseph all went close, but Datchet looked to have run out of steam as Real Milan recorded a famous victory at the game’s final whistle.

It was a very cagey final and the result will be tough on Datchet who worked hard all game, but Milan had that extra bit of quality for a victory that relieved the management team.

It is a good end to what has been a stop-start season for Real Milan.