RITCHIE ALLEN'S stunning 12 yard header secured Kirkham & Wesham's first trophy of the season at Trafford in Manchester on Thursday night and manager Mick Fuller said he hoped it would be the first of three trophies his side would
annex this season, when his side defeated Bootle 1-0 in the final.
Fuller said: "We worked hard tonight. We were not at our best, the legs were tired after so many games in such a short space of time but the bottom line is we won - and that's what really counts."
The Merseyside outfit had early chances to put the FA Vase finalists under pressure when striker Dan O'Connor failed to get a touch to a tantilising cross from Andy Fowler as early as the sixth minute and a couple of minutes
later Liam Loughlin also had a snap shot when Kirkham keeper Pete Summerfield saved well.
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But after this there really only was one side in it and Kirkham's,'s Phil Blackwell rattled the crossbar after 21 minutes from a delightful through ball by Paul Eastwood and sixty seconds later Phil Thompson unchallenged perhaps should have done better when heading on a Jon Moffatt header in front of goal.
Bootle lost influential skipper Neil McQueen after 12 minutes following a clash of heads with a team mate but his side rarely troubled Kirkham after that.
While Kirkham had chances to win it in the second-half the breakthrough came after 72 minutes when striker Ritchie Allen powered down a header that had Bootle keeper Mark Mawdsley well beaten on the near post following a great cross into the box from Blackwell.
Substitute Matt Walwyn had a couple of late chances for Kirkham to make the scoreline secure but skipper Dougie Shaw got his hands on the Vodkat Trophy after the final whistle, in what he hopes will be a prelude to another great
day at Wembley on May 11.
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