Flackwell Heath 'held their own' in cup final but Bracknell Town claimed the title for the second time

Flackwell Heath ‘held their own’ after reaching the final of the Berks and Bucks Senior Cup for the first time, but it was Bracknell Town FC’s night on Tuesday as they claimed the title for the second time.

The Heathens’ clash at Slough Town’s Arbour Park started off well with an early strike at the five-minute mark from Wiktor Makowski.

But an equaliser from Bracknell’s Gabe George just before half time and another from him and Jordan Esprit in the second half saw The Robins claim a 3-1 victory under new manager Bobby Wilkinson.

Heathens manager Chris Ayres said he was disappointed, but proud his team had reached the final.

He said: “We’re playing a side that are a league above and I felt we held our own.

“It’s always tough when you play a side or a club that have got a lot of money.”

It was ‘always going to be a challenge’ taking on Bracknell Town, Ayres said, but he thought his side ‘did really well’.

Ayres said his side had a couple of half chances to go 2-0 up in the first half before conceding in the 42nd minute.

“We had a good chance at 2-1, I thought it could have been a penalty – one of the lads got inside.

“Their second goal was a mistake from us, it was a long ball off centre half, went to head it back to the keeper and left it short.

“They scored and then obviously, we’re chasing the game, which left gaps for them to get more chances.”

He added: “In the second half, we probably could have been a bit braver and passed the ball.

“We didn’t pass it as well in the second half [as] we did in the first half, but then they’ve got players that stopped us doing that.”

Bracknell ‘probably deserved to win in the end’ due to the chances they had, compared to his side, Ayres reflected.

“But we can hold our heads high. We gave it a really good go.

“[I was] really disappointed, but proud of the boys for getting to the final. For us as Flackwell Heath to get to the senior final is a massive achievement.”

Despite the Senior Cup result, the Heathens are hoping to make the play-offs in the Southern League Division One Central after a comeback to win 6-4 against Hertford Town FC at Hertingfordbury Park last Saturday.

“It was an amazing game,” Ayres said. “1-0 up after 30 seconds, then 3-1 down after 11 minutes.

“But we turned it around and it was great to get a 6-4 win in front of a thousand people, [it] was really good.”

The Heathens are currently sitting in third position in the table.

“We want to try and cement third place because it means we’ll get home advantage in the semi-final.

“Hopefully instead of last night [Tuesday’s senior cup final], we can be victorious in the play-off final if we get there.”