Calne Town suffered late heartbreak when a 90th minute goal ended their dreams of lifting the Les Phillips Cup.

Despite controlling the play in each half against their Toolstation First Division rivals the Lilywhites conceded at the end of each period and suffered due to a failure to convert their chances.

An impressive crowd of 389 packed into Welton Rover’s stadium for the showpiece event but were met by a playing surface clearly not fit for purpose having been used less than 48 hours prior for the Somerset Cup Final.

Calne and Chippenham Town defender Steve Casey, who stepped in to replace the absent Darren Smart, could have put his side ahead in the opening 45 seconds when he rose the highest at the back post to meet a Glenn Armstrong, but headed over.

Rob Lardner’s side continued to win the aerial battles throughout the contest and Casey again threatened from another set-piece mid-way through the half.

This was immediately followed by a controversial moment when Gary Banks beat the Oldland offside trap, much to the defenders’ outrage, but could only blast his shot straight at the keeper when clean through on goal.

The pacey forward again went close minutes later after a through ball from Dan Lardner but his flicked effort with the outside of his right foot was weak and did not pose problems.

While the hard, uneven ground made it difficult to pass the ball, Calne remained on top but were often disrupted more by the pitch than their opposition. Loyal striker Glenn Armstrong summed up his entire side’s frustration in the 33rd minute when he lashed at a 20 yard shot more in anger than anything after a bobble had again taken the ball out of his path.

Left back Ben Moore squandered another opportunity shortly after when he poked wide at the back post and Oldland eventually made them pay for such sloppy finishing when they took the lead with their serious effort on goal on 42 minutes.

After breaking with pace down the right-hand-side of the pitch, Calne goalkeeper Jason Grubb could only palm a shot from Abbotonians’ right winger into the path of Wayne Pierce who easily beat captain Dan Jones to the ball to tuck into an empty net.

As the half-time whistle went shortly afterwards, Lilywhites supporters, including Grant Patterson who had flown from Carluke in Scotland specifically for the game, could not quite believe the scoreline after the 45 minutes they had just seen.

Injured midfielder Ben Fitch was replaced by teenager Dan King at half-time and Calne came out for the second period with renewed determination and a newfound sense of urgency.

Sensing the tie was slipping away from them, Gary Banks nearly found Glenn Armstrong unmarked in the 51st minute but manager’s son Dan Lardner did level the scores three minutes later.

Having been accused of trying to walk the ball into the net in the first half, Lardner - after receiving a pass from Moore - beat three defenders and blasted the ball into the bottom corner from two yards out to give his side hope.

Lardner and King both had chances to put Calne in the lead in the ten minute spell which followed but a failure to be clinical in front of goal continued to haunt the Bremhill View side all game.

Oldland had their second shot on target on 75 minutes when Ross Lye committed a foul on the edge of his own area, and was promptly booked, but Grubb comfortably held the curling effort.

The introduction of James lye for the unusually ineffective Armstrong rallied Calne who seemed the only side likely deny the game going to extra time.

King saw his free kick fly over the bar before Lardner almost snatched a dramatic victory with a well-controlled turn and shot from 20 yards which flew narrowly wide of the left-hand-post.

With both physios filling up bottles of energy drinks in anticipation of another 30 minutes, Oldland then scored the goal’s decisive game to the dismay of the Calne team and specifically, their captain.

An attacking long-throw from the Lilywhites in the 90th minute was met by James Lye but none of his teammates were able to win the second ball. Instead a hopeful punt forward was not dealt with by Jones the skipper, who allowed the ball to bounce over his head and into his own penalty area.

The lurking Pierce then fairly bundle him off the ball and showed a quality of finish which Calne so dearly missed to slot the ball past the despairing Grubb and send his side and supporters into a state of delirium.

Manager Rob Lardner threw Casey up front in a vain effort to steal an equaliser but his side were unable to create another chance in the three minutes of injury time and sunk to the floor in equal parts anger and sadness when the referee eventually blew his final whistle.

While the division’s divide between the two side’s was apparent for large spells, the quality of finishing proved the difference on the day when Calne could, and should, have joyously picked up the trophy rather than their runners-up medals.