THEY'VE done it!

Egerton FC have won the JB Parker Premier Division Challenge Cup for the first time in their history.

They defeated Altrincham Reserves 3-0 in Saturday's final played in glorious sunshine conditions at Winstanley Warriors' ground in Wigan.

Two late goals sealed the result for the Yellows.

Their scorers on the historic occasion were Louis Brown, Remmi Williams and Kayle Power.

 

It is a significant achievement for a club only formed in 2002.

For a second successive season the coronavirus pandemic curtailed the Cheshire Football League season, the decision being made during the national lockdown in the first few months of the year.

When grassroots football was allowed to return with the easing of restrictions at the end of March, all focus switched to the league's showpiece knockout competition instead.

Champions-League style groups were established with eight teams then coming together for the knockout stages.

When Egerton played their last league game on December 5, a 4-2 loss at Winstanley Warriors, they were sat 10th in a 17-team table after having won two and drawn one of their six games played.

But to the credit of the Egerton players and managers, they came back from lockdown stronger and lost only one match on their run to cup glory.

After a four-month break they were suddenly thrown into a glut of fixtures, playing the first five of their six group matches in 25 days and winning them all.

Congleton Town Reserves were defeated 3-2 on April 3, Winstanley Warriors 1-0 on April 10, Garswood United 2-0 on April 20, Winstanley 2-0 on April 24 and Congleton Reserves 3-1 on April 28.

They were weakened through suspension for the last group game at Garswood United on May 11 and were defeated 6-3 but it did not prevent their progress to the quarter-finals.

Goalkeeper Jamie Preston saved a penalty when Spencer Jenkinson’s early goal proved to be enough to knock out Eagle Sports.

The Yellows then booked their place in the decider thanks to a 3-1 penalty shoot-out success at Billinge after the contest finished 2-2 after 90 minutes.

Preston produced some fine saves during the semi-final and then came into his own in the penalty shoot-out.

Egerton delivered again in the final, dismissing an Altrincham Reserves side that had only lost one league game up until the competition was halted by Covid.

Remmi Williams finished the JB Parker Cup run as Egerton's leading scorer of the competition with four goals. Kayle Power and Andrew Toner each netted three times