LIFE just isn't fair sometimes - as Eastleigh Social Club know to their cost.

Trevor Parker's side rose to the big Wembley occasion by dominating their Carlsberg Pub Cup final only to be cruelly ploughed down 2-1 by the Suffolk Tractorboys' of Earl Soham Victoria.

"I'm gutted," sighed Eastleigh boss Trevor Parker. "Take nothing away from them they won it fair and square but I think it was relevant that their keeper won the man-of-the-match.

"After we'd equalised I thought there was only going to be one winner but their number nine (Ian Gedney) started to cause us problems in the second half and we didn't get to grips with him.

"We had a good enough side to have won it but we sadly missed Darren Colvin up front, but Ricky Fernandez and Dean Byrne were outstanding," added the Eastleigh supremo.

There is no doubting that Soham keeper Stephen Keeble won his side the magnificent glass trophy and presumably the winning side had to contain the man-of-the-match award - yet it could, and perhaps should, have gone to a number of Eastleigh contenders.

Captain Byrne, Gary Mead, Lee Brown and substitute Brian Green all impressed but it was Fernandez who really caught the eye and his fabulous 56th minute equaliser was a strike worthy of any Wembley cup final.

David Rowe angled a neat pass into his path and the 19-year-old leathered an unstoppable dipping 22-yard drive into the net via the underside of the crossbar. Had it been David Beckham you would have undoubtedly already seen the wonderous strike many times on television.

It cancelled out Soham's opener five minutes before half-time when Colin Yeomans wriggled his way to the byeline to drill in a low cross which Roger Aldis gleefully slammed home.

Keeble had earlier denied the Ten Acres club two certain goals with stunning first-half saves from Byrne's 15-yard shot and a marvellous Mead header and defender Kevin Read hacked another Fernandez effort off the line.

That made it all the more sickening for Eastleigh when Earl Soham snatched their winner ten minutes from time.

Once again the goal came from the left as Ian Gedney got to the byeline to cross for an unmarked Yeomans who had time to chest it down and turn 180 degrees with all the speed and grace of the QE2 to sidefoot past keeper Mark Brown.

"Overall it's been a great experience and it's everyone's ambition to manage a side at Wembley and having done that I've got another ambition left now - to win at Wembley," smiled Parker.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.