Leatherhead won their first significant trophy in more than 40 years with a 4-3 win on penalties after 120 minutes of non-stop action failed to produce a goal.

The Tanners did everything but score as they matched their Premier division opponents throughout and should have won it in extra time with a Tommy Hutchings penalty, but Wealdstone keeper Sean Thomas earned his Man of the Match accolade by making a great save to take the tie to the shoot out lottery.

Leatherhead were completely unfazed by having to go to penalties and when Wealdstone’s Lee Chappell missed the final spot kick, the party started for all the Tanners players and supporters starved of cup success for all those years.

So many ghosts were laid to rest for a club that had reached so many semi finals and finals in the seventies and that had gone through so many barren seasons in the last thirty years. But Mick Sullivan’s team of 2010 earned their place in the history of Leatherhead Football Club with this victory.

Full credit to Wealdstone for making a go of it. The Stones had come through two tough League matches in the last five days at Hastings and Tooting and battled hard for the whole of this match but rarely troubled the Tanners defence or goalkeeper Colin Harris who played a near faultless game.

Leatherhead started the match strongly. Tommy Hutchings forced Thomas to make a good stop after 13 minutes and Jack Macleod was booked for his follow up collision with the Wealdstone keeper.

Thomas was kept busy in the first half thwarting efforts from Elliott Thompson, Rob Hill and Adam Goodwell. Wealdstone’s best chance in the opening half came after 35 minutes when a sliced clearance from Tanners central defender Dan Dean went inches over the bar.

Stones upped the tempo in the second half and a shot from James Osbourne after 47 minutes was well held by Harris.

Wealdstone were reduced to ten men after 56 minutes when Keiron Forbes was shown a second yellow card but the Tanners were never able to take full advantage of having an extra player on the pitch.

Leatherhead came close to scoring after 71 minutes when Thompson was allowed room to advance into the Wealdstone half only to see his well struck shot go narrowly wide.

Tanners had a golden chance to take the lead eight minutes into extra time when Rob Hill was put through with only the keeper to beat but put his shot over the bar.

The match should have been decided when Wealdstone had a second player sent off ten minutes before the end of extra time, but Hutchings’ well struck penalty was saved by the brave Stones keeper.

Wealdstone’s supporters reacted to the second dismissal in good spirit with cries of “Nine men, we’ve only got nine men” followed by “Twelve men, you’ve only got twelve men” in response to the referee’s decisions.

In the final minute of extra time Mick Sullivan played his trump card with the introduction of Michael Corbett in place of Goodwell for the all important penalty shoot out.

Dan Dean took the first spot kick but his effort was saved by Thomas. Ryan Ashe’s effort was equally well stopped by Harris, so it was 0-0 after two kicks.

The next six spot kicks all went in, so it was 3-3 after eight penalties.

Leatherhead’s fifth penalty was taken by the hero of the semi final shoot out against Aveley and Michael Corbett made no mistake in burying his kick.

Suddenly all the pressure was on the shoulders of Wealdstone’s Lee Chappell who ballooned his penalty high over the bar. The rest, as they say, is history.

Leatherhead: Colin Harris, Jon Coke, Adam Goodwell (Michael Corbett), Chris Boulter, Dan Dean, Rob Hill (Matt Francis), Jack MacLeod, Mark Simmons, Greg Andrews (Kev Terry), Tommy Hutchings, Elliott Thompson

Wealdstone: Sean Thomas, Marvin McCoy, Lee Chappell, Reece Yorke, Darren Locke, Ryan Ashe, Kieron Forbes, Chris O’Leary, James Osbourne (Callum Martin), Greg Ngoyi (Mark E’Beyer), Louis Lavers (James Gray)