On a cold night at Vauxhall Road, home of Hemel Hempstead Town FC, Spartan South Midlands Division One rivals battled it out for their first piece of silverware of the season.

It was clear it was going to be a very physical game from the off, with challenges flying in from the moment the referee blew the whistle.

The opening ten minutes saw the Red’s with the majority of possession and tested London Lions, but were unable to find a real end product.

Minutes later Baldock were awarded a free-kick 15 yards out. Russell Bull placed his set-piece under the wall but James Harpin managed to get across to push the ball onto the post, before it was eventually cleared.

It was Baldock on top but the best chance of the game in the first 20 minutes fell to The Lions. With a dangerous ball dropped into the box, the goal was gaping for Adam Bolle who latched onto the end of the cross, only for Adam Harpur to get across his line and pull off a superb save.

With ten minutes of the first half remaining, Baldock Town broke the deadlock after Alex Coppin connected with a header deep inside the box. The travelling Red’s fans were in full voice as they saw their side go into the break with the advantage.

London Lions were fastest out the blocks in the second half, pushing for an equaliser early on but it was Harpur between the sticks again keeping them out.

It was end to end stuff at this point as moments later it was the opposition number one Harpin who was called into action, denying Joshua Coley who’d found himself one on one.

With 20 minutes to play, Baldock started to tighten up at the back to hold their lead, but still looked dangerous going forward, as The Lions started to tire.

Just over ten minutes later in the 82nd minute, substitute Harrison Holland doubled The Town’s lead, capitalising on a mix-up between Harpin and one of his defenders, the game began to look beyond London Lions at this point.

Sure enough, Baldock held on to win the Senior Centenary Trophy Final 2-0.

London Lions: J. Harpin, A. Myeroff, J.Marks, M. Hahn, A. Harvey, N. Landesburg, L. Mannie, J. Furman (J. Mattey 76’), A. Bolle, A. Lipman, A. Burchell
Subs: J. Mattey, T.Smith, S. Hamerton, O. Craig, Z. Rose

Baldock Town: A. Harpur, S. Brooks, J. Furness, M. Lee, L. Kenna, L. Lee, A. Coppin, F. Morris (A. Barker 86’), R. Bull (H.Holland 70’), L. Baker, J. Coley (Z. Decker 63’)
Subs: H. Holland, J. Farmer, A. Barker, K, Forsythe, Z. Decker