Non-League clubs set ‘crazy’ penalty shoot-out world record seconds before ‘lights went out’

Two North East non-league football clubs look to have claimed a world record after a marathon penalty shoot-out in a cup tie on Wednesday night.

Ebac Northern League clubs Washington and Bedlington Terriers battled their way to a 3-3 draw during regular time in their Ernest Armstrong Memorial Cup tie at Ford Football Hub in Sunderland.

A last-minute penalty from Washington striker Brad Chisholm completed his hat-trick and sent the tie into a penalty shoot-out to decide which club would take their place in the second round of the competition.

The drama was only just getting underway as the two clubs - who compete in the tenth tier of English football - shared a remarkable 54 penalties before Washington prevailed with a 25-24 win seconds before an automatic timer turned off the floodlights at the venue.

“I’ve never experienced anything like it before”

Hat-trick hero Brad Chisholm explained how the players fared as the shoot-out showed no signs of ending.

He told NationalWorld: “It felt absolutely unreal going through after a very long penalty shoot-out. I’ve never experienced anything like it before.

“I think every other penalty shoot-out I’ve been involved in has never made it past the first five and I’ve been in a lot of them.

“The craic between the players throughout the shoot-out was class, and it actually led to fewer nerves going around as it went on.

“The feeling to eventually win was so good, we are really good on penalties, so there was no way we were getting beat.”

“It’s crazy, what would have happened if we’d scored our last penalty?”

Bedlington Terriers manager Andy Ferguson was proud of his side despite the defeat and revealed most people had lost track of the score by the time Washington youngster Lucas Gamblin struck the winning penalty.

He said: “I’ve never seen anything like that, it was crazy. What made it worse was the last penalty was taken, we hadn’t even shook hands with the opposition, and the timer went off so the lights went out at the venue.

“It’s crazy, what would have happened if we’d scored our last penalty?

“All of the penalties were of an excellent standard, we had seven lads playing under the age of 18 and we gave them a good chance.

“They did really well, they showed no nerves at all. We didn’t even know what the score was by the end of the game.”

The clubs are awaiting confirmation from the Guinness Book of World Records over whether they have surpassed the previous record.

That came when 48 penalties were taken in a Namibian Cup tie in 2005 as KK Palace overcame Civics with a 17-16 win and far surpasses the English record of 44 penalties as Wolverhampton-based Old Wulfrunians earned a 19-18 win in the shoot-out in October last year.