Recap
Captain Woolley Tames The Bears
Congleton Town FC 0 v 1 1874 Northwich FC
The BUILDBASE FA VASE 2ND QUALIFYING ROUND REPLAY
A goal by 1874’s captain – Matthew Woolley – was enough to see his team through to the 1st Round of the Buildbase FA Vase and an away game at Irlam Town next month and in doing so the impressive run of form to the start of the season continued as they have now won eight and drawn six of their fourteen games so far.
But as with most cup ties this game was far from an easy encounter as both sides looked to get forward as much as possible and both goalkeepers were kept busy throughout and indeed it was Greg Hall 74’s keeper who was the first to be called into action after just two minutes as Jason Carey hit a powerful shot from 15 yards only to see Hall save well at the expense of a corner.
Ten minutes later and 1874 had their first sight of goal when, after good work by Jackson created a shooting opportunity for Beadle but his effort went into the side netting.
Then in the 17th minute the visiting supporters thought that 1874 had taken the lead as a free kick from 25 yards out by Scot McGowan beat the home keeper but hit the crossbar and bounced away to safety and minutes later the same player shot narrowly wide of the target.
Just after the half hour work good work by Paul Connor on the right flank created a chance for Sam Hind and his rasping drive ended the same as McGowan’s previous good effort… hitting the crossbar and being easily cleared by a covering defender.
Two minutes later and more good work from Hind resulted in another chance for 74 but the shot was dealt with by a covering defender.
1874 appeared to have gained a strong hold of the game and as such had long passages of play with possession and they strived hard for the opening goal whilst Congleton were tending to rely on breakaways but at the same time they remained a threat with Carey, Chappell and Fletcher all having shots on goal.
Just before half-time Cleavon Beadle did well when he went on a run and easily beat two defenders before passing to Jake Parker but his effort was cleared and the game remained goalless at half time.
This first half was one of the best 45 minutes of football played by 1874 this season as all the players worked hard for one another and at the same time they controlled the possession and created some very good chances
HT 0-0
After the interval 1874 carried on from where they had left off and the impressive Taylor Kennerley had two strong and tricky runs at the Congleton defenders and as such created two good scoring chances for himself but the first one was mishit whilst the second went over the bar but nevertheless his work rate showed promise for his side.1874 continued to take the game to their opponents and whilst they were striving hard to create chances in their search for a goal they had to continue to be aware of the real threat of Congleton’s attackers – particularly the impressive Declan Fletcher.
A reminder of this possible threat was shown just before the hour mark when a well-taken free kick was headed away by an 1874 defender at the expense of a corner – but once again the excellent back four of 1874 were up to the task and defended well.
Three minutes later and play was at the other end with a free kick just outside the area being awarded following a clumsy tackle on Kennerley. This came to nothing but a minute later and more attacking play from 1874 nearly produced the game’s first goal as yet another 74 free kick – awarded again for a foul on Kennerley – was fired into the penalty area and seemed to strike the arm of a Congleton defender but despite the strong appeals by 1874’s players the referee waved play on!
1874 continued to be on the offensive and yet still had to be wary of a threat from Congleton who did look dangerous on the break.
The introduction of substitute – Adam Whitlow on the right – with fifteen minutes remaining – provided another worry for Congleton as they tried to stem the attacks from 1874 whilst also trying to create their own chances. But it was Whitlow who was providing the chances that would surely give 74 a deserved win and passage into the next round but it turned out that Whitlow’s fellow wing man Kennerley would be involved in the game’s only goal in the 80th minute he went on yet another dazzling run that culminated with a shot from 20 yards that was deflected for a corner and from this well-delivered corner skipper Matt Woolley popped up at the back post to net the only goal of the game.
As 1874 tried to play out the final few minutes there was very nearly an upset for them as Congleton had one last rally forward that produced two efforts on goal – one of which struck a post before bouncing away to safety.
So in the end it was 1874 that deservedly won the game and can now look forward to a visit to Irlam in the next round of the competition
Congleton: Jones; Hill; Peters; Stevens; O’Reilly; Chappell, Adegbenro: Farnworth, Fletcher, Carey & Morris
1874: Hall; Connor; Jackson; Pritchard; Meadowcroft; Parker; Beadle; M Woolley; McGowan; Hind & Kennerley
Attendance: 218 Referee: Jon Kenny
Details
Date | Time | League | Season | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tue 26 Sep 2017 | 7:45 pm | F.A. Vase | 2017/18 | 218 |
Results
Club | 1st Half | 2nd Half | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Congleton Town | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1874 Northwich | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Officials
Referee | Assistant Referee 1 | Assistant Referee 2 |
---|---|---|
Jon Kenny | Oliver Byron | Joshua Howell |
KO 60 73 80 FT