MILNTHORPE Corinthians scored three goals in the final 15 minutes to seal a remarkable comeback in the Westmorland FA Invitation trophy against Appleby.

Held at Lancaster and Morecambe College Stadium, Appleby raced into a half-time two goal lead.

Corinthians pulled one back shortly after the break before Appleby restored their two goal advantage.

A 77th minute Jordan Coathup strike sparked an extraordinary turnaround as Milnthorpe grabbed an equaliser with three minutes left on the clock before picking in the win deep in to stoppage time.

Appleby took the lead when they seized onto a poor clearance and Dan Robinson fired past a straddled keeper from 25 yards.

Appleby doubled the lead when a long clearance found Jordan Crawford one on one, who after seemingly taking the ball too wide finished powerfully at the near post on 20 minutes.

Corinthians pressed again for long periods; with Appleby occasionally looking dangerous on the break and just before half-time Liam Dent had chance to increase the lead but saw his shot cannon off the post.

Corinthians pulled a goal back on 55 minutes when Ryan Close headed home at the near post following good work on the left bur Crawford grabbed his second 12 minutes later when he fired home from a narrow angle.

Appleby appeared to be running down the clock and sank further and further back into their own half as Corinthians worked hard to get back into the game. 

Their hard work paid off when on Coathup’s long range shot was misjudged by the Appleby keeper to make it 3-2.

They continued to press on and equalised after 87 minutes when Marcus Nicholson shot home from close range following a goalmouth scramble.

As extra time loomed in the third minute of injury time, Corinthians launched one final attack. 

Peter Baxendale evaded a couple of challenges to shoot past the advancing goalkeeper to give Corinthians the win.

They will now go on to represent Westmorland County FA against Cheshire County FA in the Association of Northern Counties Senior competition. Date to be confirmed.

Appleby FC
Joseph Davidson, David Nugent, Josh Hall, Thomas Armstrong (captain), Philip Little, Dan Robinson, Roger Thompson, Antony Lund, John Coward, Jordan Crawford and Liam Dent
Subs:  Ross Parkin, Kevin Sowerby and Dylan Critchley

Milnthorpe Corinthians FC
Adam White, Harry Routledge, Matthew Knipe, Scott Singleton, Craig Edmondson, Michael Packham (captain), Marcus Nicholson, Jordan Coathup, Richie Sandham, Adam Garnett and Jake Routledge
Subs:  Adam Bell, Ryan Close and Peter Baxendale