Hucknall Town claim penalty shoot-out victory over Bourne Town to reach playoff final

Hucknall Town goalkeeper Louis Kinnerley was the hero of the hour on Saturday (22 April), as his two penalty saves helped The Yellows to beat Bourne Town to reach the Uhlsport United Counties Division One playoff final.

A hard fought contest had ended 1-1 after normal time with Craig Westcarr grabbing Hucknall's goal with just over 20 minutes gone.

With the scores level the match went straight to penalties, and it was Hucknall who triumphed courtesy of Kinnerley's exploits.

Joe Ashurst and Aaron Short both found the back of the net from the spot to get Hucknall off to an excellent start. Bourne converted their first penalty but the second taker saw his effort wonderfully saved by Kinnerley.

Hucknall consolidated their advantage as Westcarr showed his usual reliability from 12 yards.

Bourne responded well by scoring their next penalty which meant the scores were 3-2 to Hucknall after three penalties each.

Billy Brooks held his nerve to put Hucknall on the brink of the final and it meant that Bourne simply had to score their next penalty to stay in the tie.

Kinnerley made sure that this didn't happen with another fantastic save which sent the visiting Hucknall fans into rapturous celebrations.

Next, they will face Birstall United in the final on Saturday (29 April) for a place in a step 5 division next season.