Malia hails 'incredible moment' as Jarrow reach Northern League Division Two play-off final

Jarrow manager Kennie Malia admitted his side had done things the hard way as they came through a penalty shoot-out to secure a place in the Northern League Division Two play-off final.

With a crowd of over 670 inside Perth Green on Tuesday night, Malia’s men battled their way to a goalless draw with Chester-le-Street United and that ensured their semi-final clash was to be decided by the lottery of a shoot-out. Experienced goalkeeper Jak Wells came to the fore as he made two saves and scored the winning penalty to send his side into a home final against Thornaby as Malia looks to guide Jarrow into Division One for the first time in their history.

Speaking after the game, he told The Gazette: “We don’t do anything the easy way and my feelings were just all over the place. I could hardly watch the penalties but what a feeling it is at the end. It’s an incredible moment for us as a club and to see so many here getting behind us meant a lot too. We would love to see them back here on Saturday to get behind us because it’s one of the biggest days in the club’s history.”

Malia also paid tribute to his number as Wells produced what he described as ‘an elite level save’ to deny United winger Charlie Loveday in the final seconds of injury-time before going on to seal the shoot-out win just minutes later.

“With 30 seconds left, Jak has made an elite level save to take it to penalties and he took that confidence into the penalties, you could sense that. He’s made two brilliant saves in the shoot-out and we had a discussion on Saturday about him taking one because he’s a confident lad, he’s great with his feet and we are confident in him. He’s probably played Northern League for 20 years now and it’s fitting he’s got us over the line. He’s one of the most experienced ones in our squad and he’s someone we feel can really make a difference for us, just as he has tonight.”

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