Neil Young has dedicated Marine AFC's Liverpool Senior Cup triumph to the fans after beating Runcorn Linnets on penalties - but has set his demands higher after capping the season with silverware.
The Mariners continue to be a thorn in the side of Linnets after they inflicted heartache in the Northern Premier League West playoff final to earn promotion back to step three of the non-league pyramid.
Bayleigh Passant was the hero from spot-kicks as he saved two penalties from Ryan Brooke and James Short before Joe Bunney stepped up and lashed home the winning effort from 12 yards in a 4-3 shootout win. The Mariners avenged their 2017 final defeat to Prescot Cables and won their first Liverpool Senior Cup since 2008.
READ MORE: Liverpool Senior Cup joy for Marine as they beat Runcorn Linnets in a dramatic penalty shootout
The triumph marks another momentous occasion for the Rossett Park side after their famous FA Cup run to the Third Round, earning promotion last season and now ending a positive season with silverware.
Recent weeks have been disappointing for the Mariners as they faded out of the playoff picture in their first season back in the Northern Premier Division. They are guaranteed a top 10 finish and for Young, it caps a good year.
He told the ECHO: "This caps the season for us winning the trophy. Personally, I always have high hopes of what we can achieve and I still believe if we kept a large part of the players fit then we would’ve been in those playoffs.
"You’ve got to roll with the punches. If we would’ve said at the start of the season, a trophy and top 10 finish, I’m sure Marine would’ve took it.
"If you enter a football competition, you try to win it. Don’t get me wrong, there’s things that can change that, but you’re not going to win the FA Cup, there’s an outside chance at our level and Runcorn’s of getting into the FA Trophy final.
"The likes of the Liverpool Senior Cup gives you some good games, it’s a lovely trophy - I’ve never seen it before. I’ve managed to win the Cheshire Senior Cup before so it’s good to add the Liverpool Senior Cup and it’s great but also for the club."
Going into Tuesday's Liverpool County FA showpiece, Marine lost back-to-back matches to Warrington Town and Hyde United - their defeat to the Greater Manchester side proved to be a chastening experience as they were downed 4-0, ending proceedings with nine men.
Young continued: "We’ve not been great now for probably two months for various reasons, we’ve lost influential players at the top of the pitch and it’s been a slog for everyone, for the lads to win a trophy at the end of the season - we missed out on the playoffs and if I’m honest we weren't ready for it.
"We weren't good enough and the league doesn’t lie - but there are reasons why we weren't good enough because if we were able to keep a lot of the lads fit that we’ve lost then we would’ve been in the playoffs. But it wasn’t to be.
"Over the last three years, to be a Marine fan with the FA Cup run to then to get promotion the following season and to get a guaranteed top 10 finish and a Liverpool Senior Cup on top of that, it’s good for the fans. Tonight the occasion was made because of both sets of supporters, they were excellent, they were loud and it made for a proper cup tie."
More than 2,500 fans made their way to the DCBL Stadium for the first Liverpool Senior Cup final after the Coronavirus pandemic. However, the almost sold-out allocation wasn't treated to a great spectacle as the two sides canceled each other out in a stalemate.
"Someone has to win the cup and dependent on your opponent, they were tough. It wasn’t a great game to watch, it was intense, both teams trying to win the game," the Marine boss added. "As the game wore on, I thought we got stronger, in particular the second half of the second half. Mark Howarth has had a few good opportunities, usually if you wanted them to fall to one person it would be him but it wasn’t to be.
"It was a fair result, a draw, then it’s the lottery - who can come out on top on penalties and Bayleigh has made a few crucial saves and we’ve only missed one so we managed to lift the trophy."
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