Football: Rogers keeps it in the family

MARTYN ROGERS, the manager of Tiverton Town, knows a thing or two about match-winning Wembley substitutions.

Last season the Devon club won the FA Carlsberg Vase for the first time thanks to a late goal from a substitute, Pete Varley. With yesterday's final against Bedlington Terriers apparently heading for extra time, the Tivvy manager sent on Scott Rogers, the son of his cousin and former team- mate at Exeter City and Tiverton, Peter Rogers. In the 89th minute the 19-year-old midfielder duly scored the only goal of the game.

The Northumberland side looked to have cleared a Tiverton attack, but Varley won a tackle to regain possession. Last year's goalscorer turned goal-maker, slipping the ball to Scott Rogers, whose low left-foot shot found the corner of the net. Tiverton thus became only the third side, after Billericay Town in the 1970s and Halesowen Town in the 80s, to retain the Vase.

Next year, having won promotion from the Screwfix Direct to the Dr Martens League, Tiverton must turn their attentions to the FA Umbro Trophy, in a move to a higher level of non-League football that is long overdue. Yesterday they faced tough opponents in the runaway champions of the Arnott Insurance Northern League, who beat Colchester United 4-1 in the FA Cup this season, but they had the class and the energy to secure the spoils.

In Saturday's Trophy final Kingstonian gained their first win at Wembley with a 1-0 victory over Forest Green Rovers. The decisive goal was scored four minutes after half-time when Justin Shuttlewood, the Gloucestershire club's goalkeeper, fumbled a cross from Mark Harris and the wing-back Tarkan Mustafa, a pounds 5,000 signing from Barnet last summer, drove in the loose ball.