Accrington Stanley 1, Bradford Park Avenue 0, 1-1 on aggregate, Accrington win 5-4 on penalties - Bradford Park Avenue players were left devastated as their cup dream was shattered in a tense penalty shoot-out.

But furious boss Trevor Storton laid the blame squarely at referee John Lawson's door after his side were defeated 5-4 on penalties by Accrington Stanley in the UniBond Challenge Cup final.

The match was 1-1 on aggregate after extra time when the match went into penalties, Accrington having cancelled out Avenue's 1-0 first-leg win.

Paul Wharton missed the vital kick - and Stanley bagged their second trophy in a week.

But Avenue afterwards insisted the game should have been won inside the 90 minutes.

"This referee turned down two blatant penalties for us," said a fuming Storton after his side went down 1-0 at the Crown Ground in the second leg to force extra-time and penalties.

"He has bottled the big decisions and cost us the game. I was just looking for someone to make fair and honest decisions.

"This referee is a disgrace and he has cost us the game. What more can I say?"

Ten penalties were taken, when only one would have sufficed.

When Accrington Stanley's Robbie Williams brought down the rampaging Jason Maxwell after just nine minutes, the tie could effectively have been over.

The mandatory red card and subsequent spot-kick would have given Avenue a 2-0 lead, and a fantastic chance of cup glory.

But it wasn't to be.

In the reverse of the strict refereeing that saw Stanley reduced to nine men in the first leg, Pontefract official Lawson instead opted for the yellow card and the free-kick on the edge. This was missed, and the game continued through to its 10.30pm conclusion.

Avenue, missing five key players, had the best of the opening exchanges with a second reasonable penalty claim turned down in a typical cup final atmosphere.

Few clear-cut chances were created at either end while four yellow cards were dished out - the majority to the under-pressure home side.

Bustling centre-forward Maxwell went close, blasting over after just three minutes while Dean Calcutt weaved his wing magic wide on the left.

Keeper Rob Montgomery was troubled only once in the first-half, pulling off a point-blank save from Paul Mullins after a flick by the busy Lutel James. The second-half was a largely scrappy affair, "neither side were brilliant", admitted Storton afterwards.

But the visitors, on a seven-game winning streak, worked hard despite playing with a weakened side.

Skipper Mark Hancock was forced to fill in at centre-back, and was one of the defensive heroes of the night, along with the returning Micky Thompson, as Stanley began to assert their authority.

Avenue, who hadn't conceded in more than ten hours of football, lost their first leg lead when Mullins powered in a far-post header from a Simon Carden cross in the 62nd minute.

With the aggregate scores now level, the game reached somewhat of a stalemate, although Andy Hayward slid wide from 12 yards in the dying seconds of injury-time with a fantastic chance.

Extra time was largely uneventful apart from the introduction of Avenue's only other sub, assistant boss Ian Thompson, playing his first competitive game since the late 1990s.

Lutel James had his chance in a goalmouth scramble, but the inevitable penalties arrived.

Former Stanley player Martin James coolly despatched the first, with Steve Flitcroft, Thompson and Andy Proctor also coming up trumps.

Substitute Wharton then strode up for his moment of destiny.

He placed the ball on the spot, took a step back and then wheeled round at pace, only to drive the ball weakly straight down the middle.

His rushed penalty hit the knees of Jamie Speare - the rest was a formality.

"I'm gutted for the lads," added Storton. "It's a horrible way to lose."

Dan rutstein