Coundon Forresters made a successful defence of the Darlington & Stockton Times Division One Cup with a late goal against Spraire RA.

Played at Darlington FC's Feethams ground on Sunday, Coundon came back from a goal down to win 2-1 and had Norman Foster to thank for notching a golden goal just five minutes away from a penalty shoot-out.

Both sides put in committed displays and as a result, several players began to feel the effects of cramp towards the end of the game.

The match, The Northern Echo Darlington and District League's Division One Cup Final was the third between the sides in the past four weeks.

Played out amid frequent heavy showers, both sides started brightly and played some good football in front of a sizeable crowd, although both defences began on top.

However, Spraire took the lead midway through the first half as Adam Hughes scored with a crisp drive from the edge of the box following a real scramble in the area.

Coundon immediately looked for an equalising goal, but the Spraire defence were capable of dealing with the threat of the League's top scorer Rob Mazur and strike partner Darren Wilson as Spraire carried their advantage into the break.

The second half was more of the same as Coundon continued to press for a leveller but were continually thwarted by a well-marshalled defence.

However, with the final whistle looming, Curt Warburton broke down a Spraire attack before playing a superb pass to Wilson.

He outpaced the back-line to latch onto the ball and the outcome was a richly deserved equaliser, after which Wilson milked the adulation of the Feethams crowd.

It was Spraire who reacted positively, as Coundon took their foot off the pedal to the disgust of manager Paul Aldsworth.

Spraire, pushed forward as they looked for an equaliser, and the Spraire bench felt that they should have been awarded a penalty as a goal-bound effort struck the top of the bar as a Coundon defender looked to throw his hands at the ball.

After listening to the assistant referee, however, the referee awarded a goal kick, and as the tense final minutes petered away the game moved into golden goal extra time.

Urged on by rain-sodden joint-managers Chris Sowerby and Dave Hardity, Spraire once more looked the livelier of the two sides in the opening minutes of extra time.

Despite several players going down with injuries and cramp, on several occasions Spraire RA came close to finding the goal that would have given them the Cup, most notably through a gilt-edged chance for substitute Mike Brooks.

However, with the game heading towards a spot-kick drama, players tired and the game became more open.

With the clock counting down, a scramble in the Spraire goalmouth left Coundon's Foster with time and space to head the goal which clinched victory.