Grantham Town have been crowned the 2023 Lincolnshire FA County Senior Cup Champions after a 1-0 victory over Spalding United at the LNER Stadium in Lincoln on Tuesday night.

It’s the first time The Gingerbreads have won the Senior Cup since 1983, with a result that Grantham manager Matt Chatfield described as “delightful” following “a tough season for the club.”

The first half was cagey affair as neither time wanted to make a mistake and find themselves on the back foot. Spalding began the stronger of the two sides and tried to find a way through the Grantham back line, but to no avail. 

While both sides tested the keepers from set pieces and long-range efforts, half time soon came with the sides remaining level and not giving too much away.

The 2nd half saw the game come into life at the 56th minute mark when Elliott Durrell created himself space with some good footwork on the edge of the Spalding box, before hitting a low driven rocket into the bottom left-hand corner and handing Grantham the lead and what also transpired to be the match winning goal.

Just 6 minutes later, Grantham came agonisingly close to a second following Sisa Tuntulwana’s header that floated inches wide of the far post and left everyone wondering how it hadn’t found the back of the net. 

The remainder of the game was controlled by Grantham, despite Spalding’s best efforts to find a way back into the game. The Gingerbread fans were in full voice to see the trophy home, and expectedly erupted as the full-time whistle was blown by Championship-level referee, Josh Smith.

Elliott Durrell was awarded the Player of the Match, and the match was officiated by a full PGMOL Officiating team of Josh Smith, Rob Atkin, Declan Ford, and Martin Chester. 

The game saw 590 spectators in attendance. 

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Photo credit: Ed Mayes Photography