There were no goals in the FA Premier League Cup Final at Stevenage FC – in front of a crowd of 544 – before Tottenham Hotspur eventually edged Charlton Athletic 4-3 on penalties.
The game had not started as though goals would be hard to come by, as there were goal-line clearances at both ends inside the opening 10 minutes.
Ronnell Humes’ shot across goal was knocked off the line by Charlton’s Grace Coombs and after Toni-Anne Wayne palmed Kit Graham’s free-kick away from the bottom corner, Avilla Bergin’s follow-up was kept out by Tottenham’s Lucia Leon.
When Jenna Schillaci’s inswinging free-kick was punched clear by Addicks’ keeper Alex Baker, Humes lobbed the rebound over the top.
Bianca Baptiste went close for Spurs, as did Wendy Martin, whose header was cleared knocked out of the goalmouth by Coombs.
Just before the break, Kim Dixon’s cross to the Spurs back post was hit to safety by Leon.
Early in the second half, Sophie McLean broke through to find Humes but her flick was just tipped away by Baker.
Martins guided a across from Leon goalward only for Daisy Monaghan to deal with the danger this time.
In the extra half-hour, Tottenham were closest to a winner when Baptiste crashed a shot off the inside of the upright.
When it came to the shoot-out, both keepers saved one penalty each before the decisive moment, as Wayne denied Coombs to make sure the cup stayed with Spurs and the double was completed.
Photos – The FA via Getty Images
