MARK PRITCHETT’S experiences when playing his former club Shortwood United this season can be summed up as ‘bittersweet’.

In Leigh Henry’s continued injury absence he will proudly captain Cirencester Town when they take on Shortwood in the final of the Gloucestershire Senior Challenge Cup on Tuesday night (7.30 ko).

When Ciren played Shortwood in the FA Cup earlier this season, Pritchett scored what is the front runner for the club’s goal of the season – and acrobatic volleyed scissors kick with his left foot from 15 yards which rocketed into the back of the net.

It was the goal fit for a Messi or a Ronaldo not a no-nonsense centre back.

“I could play for another 10 years and I will never score another goal like it,” admitted Pritchett, who has a framed photograph of the goal on a wall at his home.

It was a strike good enough to win any game; unfortunately for Cirencester they had a subsequent goal disallowed and were pegged back by a late Shortwood equaliser.

Worse was the follow in the evenly-contested replay at the Corinium Stadium.

Seven minutes into extra time, Pritchett brought down a Shortwood player fully 40 yards from goal and was shown a red card.

The visitors went on to grab a late winner and a month later they dumped a youthful Cirencester side (without Pritchett and a number of first-teamers) out of the League Cup.

“It was stupid thing for me to do and it obviously cost us the FA Cup tie,” said Pritchett of his red card, “so you can understand when I say I want to make up for it by beating them in this final.”

Reflecting on the season as a whole, in which Cirencester Town finished a highly respectable eighth in the Southern Premier after their last-day victory over Burnham, Pritchett said: “Everyone thought we would struggle but we have had a brilliant season.

“It’s just a shame we did not make the play-offs.

“We have lost two full backs (Ellis Dunton and Ben Prictor) to season-ending injuries and Leigh Henry as well. For the second half of the campaign we just haven’t had a settled back four, which has always been our strength.

“But for that, I think we would have been involved in the promotion push.”

As for the county cup final being played on the artificial 3G pitch at the GFA’s headquarters at Almondsbury, Pritchett admitted: “I’m not a fan of plastic pitches – playing on them can feel like a training game – but we have enough good ball players in our side for it not to make a difference.”