North Village 1

Flanagan’s Onions 2

Flanagan’s Onions overcame the odds last night to reach their first FA Cup final, after coming from behind to beat fellow strugglers North Village in the second semi-final at Goose Gosling Field.

A Premier Division side for just three seasons after three years before that in the First Division, Onions are through to their first major final after top scorer Keston Lewis netted the 72nd minute winner to complete the former Commercial League team’s fightback.

Village took an early lead through player-coach Ralph Bean Jr and looked on their way to setting up a repeat of last year’s FA Cup final.

However, Onions showed plenty of character to turn the match around with Nathan Peskett’s 32nd minute equaliser before Lewis seized on a half chance late in the game.

The striker chased down a back pass to goalkeeper Troy Hall and blocked his attempted clearance upfield before slotting the loose ball into an empty net for his thirteenth goal of the season.

“Things haven’t really gone too well for us in the league but the last couple of weeks has started to come good,” Mick Ward, the Onions coach, said.

Survival still remains a priority but Onions have something else to look forward to in two end-of-season matches against the league and FA Cup champions Dandy Town next month.

“Our next game is the league so we’ll focus on that first but we’re absolutely delighted to get to the final,” Ward said.

“In the first ten minutes they got a goal and I thought we were a little slow coming out, but towards the end of the first half we really took the game to them.”

A good move opened the Onions defence when a cross to the right flank found Takeyhi Walker whose low cross into the box was side-footed into the roof of the net by Bean.

The equaliser came when another cross from the right by Doolin resulted in midfielder Peskett winning possession on the edge of the box before driving home a left-footed shot.

Onions were twice denied a second goal soon after when Hall blocked a shot from defender Markez Laws and then saved from Lewis a minute later.

Keishen Bean showed a flash of brilliance in the 39th minute when his brilliant chip from 25 yards hit the underside of the crossbar.

Village started the second half with a good portion of the possession without testing goalkeeper Stephen Gould who needed treatment after a collision.

Gould was equal to a Ralph Bean shot from the right edge of the box which he tipped over the bar in what would be the closest Village would come to a second goal.

After Onions took the lead, Village began piling men forward in a desperate attempt to equalise but the league’s worst defence held firm, including for five minutes of stoppage time, before referee Elihu Holmes’s final whistle confirmed their place in the April 12 final.