FA Vase final: Littlehampton Town 0-3 Newport Pagnell Town
- Published
Ben Shepherd scored twice at Wembley having scored six league goals all season
Newport Pagnell Town lifted the FA Vase for the first time as Ben Shepherd's double sank Littlehampton at Wembley.
Kieran Barnes fired the Swans ahead when his superb 25-yard half-volley found the top corner after 19 minutes.
Shepherd doubled the lead early in the second half, pouncing from close-range after the ball ricocheted off goalkeeper James Binfield.
And the midfielder sealed it from the penalty spot after Lewis Jenkins brought down Jake Watkinson.
Ninth-tier Littlehampton were looking to complete a league and cup double having won the Southern Combination Premier Division title last month and carried the greater threat early on.
But the Marigolds lost momentum after Barnes' left-footed strike - which befitted the big stage - and then saw 47-goal striker and joint-manager George Gaskin carried off on a stretcher following a collision with Mo Ahmed.
United Counties League side Newport, also in the ninth tier, needed three penalty shootouts and came through eight rounds to book their first Wembley visit, but Shepherd's nine-minute double ensured a nerve-free finale for their 7,000 fans.
The Sussex side had scored 130 league goals this season, including 58 for Joe Benn, but had a quiet afternoon in front of goal, and went closest when a deflected shot hit the post in between Shepherd's double.
Newport Pagnell Town assistant manager Gary Chance told BBC Three Counties Radio:
"We knew we were underdogs, but we were quietly confident.
"The league we play at, step five, the same as Littlehampton, it's a very tough league so we didn't feel we were going to be playing a team that were better than some of the top teams in our league.
"We felt we had another couple of half-chances that we could have taken which would have made it more comfortable, but the goals came along at the right time. As a manager you want to score early and then one in the second half early.
"It's still surreal for the players. I can see in their eyes that they're overjoyed, but I think they're still trying to take it all in, 'how have we done this?'. I think it will sink in over the next couple of days."
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