Crows suffer cruel exit from Herts Charity Shield
Late penalty sends Crows crashing out
ROYSTON Town suffered a heartbreaking last minute defeat to Hoddesdon Town in the Herts Charity Shield on Wednesday night.
Hoddesdon’s Gary Simmonds scored an 88th minute penalty to add to his earlier equaliser to knock the Crows out of the competition at the first hurdle.
It had all started so well for Paul Attfield’s side as they took the lead in the 17th minute when Ryan Lockett’s pin-point free kick was headed past ‘keeper Luke Peirce by Arron Welch.
Royston were firmly on top after this as the visitors struggled to get a foothold in the tie.
However, as the half wore on, Hoddesdon gradually improved and scored at the worst possible time for Royston just on the stroke of half time.
The Crows failed to clear their lines and Simmonds was on hand to slot the ball home after neat play with Frazer John.
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Hoddesdon looked a different side after the break and took the game to Royston as the second half turned into an end-to-end affair.
Both sides went for the victory in the last 10 minutes but it was the visitors who snatched the victory when Steve Wakam was brought down in the area and Simmonds duly stepped up to convert from the spot.
The Crows then laid siege to the Hoddesdon goal during an amazing nine minutes of added on time but were unable to find an equaliser.
A disappointing night for Attfield and his side, but they will hope to bounce back strongly when they travel to Aylesbury Town on Saturday for the opening day of the new season.
