1874 Northwich vs Prescot Cables

Recap

It was very much a case of so near yet so far for 1874 in their FA Cup tie against Prescot Cables at the Barton Stadium on Saturday.

With just five minutes remaining all looked well for more progress in this most prestigious competition as 1874 were leading 3-1 but a remarkable ending saw Prescot score two good goals to earn themselves a replay on Tuesday.

All had started well for 1874 when as early as the third minute a good move involving the hard-working Connor, Beadle and Ward ended with the latter having a well hit shot deflected for a corner. This came to nothing but it certainly gave the 1874 forwards the confidence to take the game to their opponents and this they did with real enthusiasm and commitment and all of this paid off when in the 14th minute they took the lead through Brandon. The goal scorer was involved early in the move as he won a heading dual just inside the Prescot half, the ball was then headed on further by the alert Beadle into the path of Abdullah who advanced forward on a tricky run before playing the ball into the path of the supporting Brandon who then fired home (left-footed of course) into the bottom corner.

1874 had their tails up and continued to take the game to their opponents with Connor, Ward and Abdullah all thrusting forward with enthusiasm which resulted in Ward and beadle both seeing good efforts just clear the cross bar.

However, the lack of a second goal almost inevitably meant that Prescot would come more into the game and they enjoyed a good spell in the last 15 minutes of the half and indeed caused a few problems for the home defence but Conkie was up to the task and saved well on two occasions.

Just before the interval 1874 nearly had the much needed second goal when good work by Beadle on the left resulted in him finding Abdullah on the opposite touchline with an excellent 40 yard pass that enabled his colleague to beat his man and unleash a shot that went narrowly wide of the target.

The second half was barely into its second minute when Beadle scored 1874’s second goal as he worked hard to create the chance to fire home from 15 yards.

However, Prescot were not going to let this disappointment upset them and just four minutes later they were back in the tie when Stokar lobbed the ball over Conkie to level the scores

In the 55th minute arguably the move of the game nearly concluded with 1874 retaking the lead. Aston and Duckworth combined well on the left side before Connor also got involved and he then found Beadle 25 yards out and his effort on goal rebounded to Abdullah but his shot failed to hit the target

However on 73 minutes the two-goal lead was restored when Duckworth delivered and excellent free kick from the right into the box allowing Danny Thomas to head the goal as the ball hit the underside of the bar before nestling into the back of the net.

At this stage it looked as though 1874 simply had to play out time before moving into the next round of the Cup and although both Beadle and Abdullah missed half chances there appeared little to worry about.

But just after 80 minutes and some slack defending it was only thanks to Duckworth chasing back to clear the ball off the line that prevented a goal for the visitors. That should have served as a warning but it didn’t appear so as Prescot scored two goals in the last four minutes to take the tie to a replay.

Firstly in the 85th minute slack marking at a corner left Dodd free to head home a second goal for the visitors and then 2 minutes into injury time their comeback was complete when Black hit a rasping volley from just outside the box into the roof of the net to the dismay of the home side and their supporters

So it all has to happen again on Tuesday as both sides search for the win that will see them up against FC United of Manchester in the next round

1874 (4-4-2) Conkie (GK), Mitchell, Thomas, Aston, Duckworth, Abdullah (Crofts 78), Woolley, Ward, Connor, Brandon, Beadle Subs not used Fossdyke (GK), Bowyer, Farnworth, Bailey, Jones, Short Goals Brandon 14, Beadle 46, Thomas 73

Referee Scott Jackson

Attendance 356