‘One of the biggest’ - Morpeth Town boss Craig Lynch ‘delighted’ with dramatic Senior Cup win

Morpeth Town boss Craig Lynch has claimed that Wednesday evening’s Northumberland Senior Cup quarter-final victory over North Shields was one of the “biggest wins” he’s had during his time at the club.

Heading into the contest off the back of a difficult few days at Craik Park during which it was announced that chairman Ken Beattie will be stepping back from his day-to-day role while he recovers from “serious health issues”, Morpeth had to dig deep to eventually see off their Ebac Northern League Division One opponents in a penalty shootout.

Town fell behind in the first half, courtesy of a Nelson Ogbewe strike, but would be thrown a lifeline after the interval when Shields talent Stephen Turnbull was sent off shortly before the hour-mark for violent conduct.

From there, the Highwaymen pushed for an equaliser, eventually restoring parity late on through Ryan Chater. Goalkeeper Dan Langley would then make himself the hero of the shootout, keeping out three spot kicks to send his side through to the last four.

And speaking after the final whistle, Lynch was quick to highlight the magnitude of the result. He said: “I think in the grand scheme of things it's another win, but I think this is one of the biggest wins I've had.

“I think the week we've had is probably the worst week I've ever had in football. Really, really tough week. But the lads have showed what kind of characters they are, coming through that and then coming tonight and digging deep.

“A lot of in-play frustration, especially when Shields went down to 10. I think we've had six or seven games this season where we've played against 10. But we've got to stick to the principles. I'm the manager, and if it goes wrong, it falls on me and I'll take it on my shoulders all day long.

“We've grinded them down in the end, and for all their keeper has pulled off two or three great saves, unfortunately for them, we've got the rebound in the last minute. Chater came on, brilliant.

“And then penalties... You're always good for Langley saving two, but to save three penalty kicks - that's why I believe he's the best goalkeeper in the North East.

“The lads have stepped up brilliantly and look, I'm absolutely delighted. I'm delighted for the football club because we needed a little bit of positivity this week. We needed something to hold on to, and that’s given us something to hold on to, to get to the semi-finals.”