A pair of late goals from Man of the Match Tomas Brown saw Peel come back from two-nil down to beat Corinthians on penalties, and lift the Eric Fletcher Shield.
His wicked free-kick, followed swiftly by a close-range equaliser in the final moments of the contest, cancelled out earlier goals from Sean Doyle and Adam McCullough to take the game to penalties. Peel shot-stopper Owen Dawson then made himself the hero, saving Joe Middleton’s spot kick, before club captain Matthew Woods dispatched his decisive penalty via the woodwork to seal the Sunset City side a memorable 10th Charity Shield success.
First Half
Corinthians, quite literally, got the ball rolling at a sun-kissed national stadium, and quickly looked to apply the pressure. McCullough latched onto a ball over the top inside two minutes, but with the angle against him, fired high and wide.
The Ballafletcher side’s intent was the tale of the early exchanges, and they enjoyed several opportunities to carve out an advantage. Frontman Doyle appeared a constant threat inside the Westerners’ six-yard box, but failed to capitalise on a host of chances as Peel struggled to gain a foothold in the game.
Despite looking second best for large parts of the opening 20 minutes, it was the Douglas Road outfit who ultimately could’ve gone two to the good; striker Tomas Brown saw his opening effort well saved by onrushing goalkeeper Matthew Quirk, before firing narrowly wide just minutes later.
Corinthians posed a consistent counter-attacking threat, however, and very nearly got their reward when a neat passing move left Danny Simpson with the goal at his mercy. The winger fired low and hard, but a vital intervention from an alert Peel defender ensured that scores remained level.
The tide appeared to turn as the half neared its close; Brown and the tireless Jason Chalmer repeatedly caused their opponents’ defence real problems with darting runs in behind. Despite a flurry of efforts, Corinthians dealt with the danger and ensured there was no way through.
Neither side was able to break the deadlock as the first period came to a close, and the whistle blew with the game still goalless.
HALF-TIME: PEEL AFC 0-0 CORINTHIANS
Second Half
The floodlights came on for the second period, and in kind, Peel started brightly. The Westerners moved the ball with real venom going forward, but squandered their openings. Something they’d be made to pay for.
Against the run of play, it was the Ballafletcher side who put their opponents to the sword.
A fluid attack down the left-hand side left the Peel defence all at sea, and a trademark box-crashing run from Doyle saw him get free of his marker at the near post and nod home a pinpoint Danny Simpson cross from close range.
Undeterred, the Douglas Road offensive continued. Brown was again played through and tried to lift his effort beyond Quirk, but was denied superbly by the imposing keeper.
Corinthians immediately went up the other end, though, and Doyle turned provider. A deft flick over the head of Tom Dowling played in McCullough, who controlled calmly before volleying past Owen Dawson to double his side’s advantage.
A brief lull in proceedings to allow midfielder Cameron Dudley to receive treatment after a coming together was welcomed by both sides, in what had been an attritional start to the half. Meanwhile, Brown became the first to enter the referee’s book for his part in the challenge on Dudley, and the Corinthians summer signing from Rushen Utd. could play no further part..
When play resumed, Peel again tried to force the issue. A whipped ball from Chalmer was met excellently by substitute Jake Robertshaw, but the winger failed to generate enough power to trouble a resolute Corinthians defence.
The Westerners, however, remained relentless, and a mazy Robertshaw run won a foul on the edge of the 18-yard box. Brown, so energetic throughout the contest so far, stepped up and curled a sublime effort beyond the flailing Quirk to halve the deficit with just four minutes of normal time remaining.
Not content with a mere consolation, Peel pushed hard for a second. And when the ball trickled across the centre of the box, it was the red and white shirt of Brown who was on hand once more to double his tally and draw his team level, sending the West coast faithful into raptures.
From there, it was one-way traffic, and a bank of white shirts settled on the edge of the area to repel the resurgent attack. Brown almost had his hattrick, and Peel’s winner, in the dying embers. The back-to-back golden boot winner headed a looping cross off the post, before Corinthians quickly cleared their lines.
At two-a-piece, a glance at the watch revealed time was up, and penalties lay in wait.
FULL-TIME: PEEL 2-2 CORINTHIANS
Penalties
After Corinthians took the lead in the shootout, Robertshaw looked to have handed the advantage when his poor penalty, and Peel’s first, was saved by Quirk. But a retake was called, as the Ballafletcher stopper had strayed from his line; Robertshaw dispatched with aplomb at the second time of asking.
A series of strong penalties followed, before Joe Middleton stepped up to take Corinthians fourth spot kick. He aimed low to Dawson’s right hand side, but the Peel stopper was wise to it and got down well to save.
Peel’s captain Matthew Woods was the man under pressure, as he stood over the crucial penalty. He struck low, and despite connecting with the post on its way in, the net rippled, and celebrations ensued for the Westerners as they secured back-to-back successes in the traditional curtain-raiser.
FULL-TIME (PENALTIES): PEEL 5-4 CORINTHIANS