KNOWLE advanced to the Les James Challenge Cup final with their third penalty shootout victory of the season against division rivals Cadbury Athletic.
Robins goalkeeper Craig Johnson was the hero as he saved two Cadbury penalties to help Knowle triump 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation time at the Draintech Community Ground.
And victory means Knowle will play Solihull rivals Hampton in the final at Walsall’s Bescot Stadium on Tuesday, May 9.
Tireless work from Knowle’s backroom staff ensured the game went ahead after a heavy downfall drenched the pitch which was soft but playable in front of 211 spectators.
The Robins dominated the ball but were unable to test Fraser Oliver in the Cadbury goal as Johnson made two superb saves at the other end to keep the scores level.
However, Knowle broke the deadlock on 54 minutes as Kartel O’Neil-Martin beat the offside trap and raced into the box to score from Jack Ricketts’s pass.
Cadbury hit back with seven minutes left to play as Kedeiah Warren-Paul bundled the ball home amongst a crowd of players in the Knowle six-yard box to send the game to penalties.
Joe Sinton, Ben Jones, Nathan Corry and Jacob Walton all scored for Knowle as Jeson Dinanga and Andrew Cooper both saw their efforts saved by Johnson to send the Robins through to the final.
Knowle travel to Fairfield Villa on Saturday, April 8 with kick-off at 3pm at the Recreation Ground and play away at Boldmere Sports and Social Falcons on Easter Monday (April 10) with kick-off at 3pm at Boldmere Sports and Social Club.
