Two goals in the final five minutes saw Hornchurch lift the inaugural Pitching In Super Cup as the Urchins overcame Warrington Rylands 3-2 at Bridge Avenue.

The clash between the winners of the FA Trophy and FA Vase was evenly matched and Liam Nash – scorer of Hornchurch’s second at Wembley – broke the deadlock with an exquisite 25th-minute chip.

Stephen Milne levelled with a fine strike of his own but just as they had against Hereford at in May, the Urchins finished with a flourish to add more silverware to their trophy cabinet.

With penalties looming, Nash restored his side’s lead with a deflected free-kick before Sam Higgins’ header sealed the outcome.

Rylands had the last word as Joseph Coveney’s free-kick drifted inside the far post but it came too late to deny Hornchurch the victory in front of 457 spectators.

Man of the match Nash said: “It’s nice to win another trophy. They don’t come around often so when they’re up for grabs you have to go and get them.

“With what we’ve done, every player in that dressing room should believe we are untouchable on our day.

“Hopefully we’ve got another big season ahead.”

Both sides created early chances on a slippery surface, Rylands defender Richard Smith denying Chris Dickson with a last-ditch challenge before Coveney’s header found the roof of the net at the other end.

The visitors saw penalty appeals waved away on 25 minutes and when the resulting clearance sent Nash away, his chip picked out the top corner to give Hornchurch the lead.

The goalscorer soon had a free-kick beaten away by the impressive Graeme McCall, who later denied Dickson with the last action of the first half and Nash from point-blank range at the start of the second.

Just past the hour, Rylands levelled matters as Milne curled a superb effort in off the underside of the bar and the final half-hour was end-to-end.

Nash needed a touch of fortune to put his side back in front, the striker’s free-kick coming off the bottom of the wall and wrong-footing McCall with five minutes remaining.

Ellis Brown then powered down the right-hand side and found Higgins, whose header looped into the far corner to reduce Coveney’s free-kick to consolation status.

The contest marked an entertaining debut for the Pitching In Super Cup, the idea for which was born in the immediate aftermath of both sides winning at Wembley and quickly supported by league partners Pitching In, a multi-million-pound grassroots sport investment programme.

Hornchurch first-team coach Jamie Southon said: “This is a brilliant idea and we’re delighted to be the first winners of the Pitching In Super Cup.

“It was a mixed bag from us today but we’re pleased with the win and we can take that momentum into next week.”

Rylands boss Dave McNabb, whose side begin their Pitching In Northern Premier League journey at home to Leek next weekend, said: “We stayed in the game and I thought we were the better side for half an hour in the second half.

“There could be no better test ahead of the new season and we’ve enjoyed the day.”

Ladbrokes, with the support of its owner Entain, has launched a multi-million pound investment programme, Pitching In, designed to support and promote grassroots sports. For more details see: https://entaingroup.com/sustainability/pitching-in/