Ron Eaglen Challenge Cup – Preliminary Round
Bassingham Bugle Horn FC 3
Dynamo Varsity 2
The home side were the dominant force in the first half but missed a number of chances before Barney buried a bullet diving header into the top corner to give them the lead. The visitors somehow managed to go into the half time break just one goal down, much to their relief. Dynamo equalised early in the second half thanks to an excellent lob from Sam Joyce after a Sean Melton flick through. Dynamo then caught the home side out again on the break when Simon Cotton played in Sam Joyce who again finished with aplomb. Unfortunately for the visitors the home side’s pressure told and Bassingham deservedly levelled, before Barney rose like a salmon from a corner late on to head home the winner.
Man of the Match for Dynamo was Sam Joyce. The Dynamo Varsity Manager had this to say about their opponents’ on the day “ Sorry I don’t know the identity of the player that I only know as Barney. Mark Walker for Bassingham was dominant in the middle of midfield. Fair play to Bassingham they have a very good team this year and should be challenging in their league”.
Bassingham Bugle Horn FC now entertain Metheringham FC in the next round of the competition.
Greenbank FC 4
Lincoln RNA 2
Greenbank’s first home fixture of the season saw Lincoln RNA visit NK with the hopes of upsetting their higher league opposition. The home side made a few changes to last week’s opening day success at Waddington, debutants Eddie Wilson and Craig Smith came into the starting 11 and Sam Newton was named as a substitution.
The opening stages of the game were pretty even with Greenbank taking a while to get hold of the game, particularly in the middle of midfield. There were no real chances of note early on although once Greenbank found their feet they started to impose their attractive passing style on the game. The home side thought they had broken the deadlock when Skayman bundled in from close range but the assistant’s flag intervened and the goal was disallowed.
The deadlock was finally broken when great work from Ashley Murphy saw Shane Clancy played in down the right channel. He crossed for Skayman to finish into the bottom corner, off which part of his lower limbs is still a hot topic. Soon after it was 2-0. A marauding run from Wilson saw him produce a wicked cross which evaded everyone before Murphy retrieved the loose ball. He squared to Clancy who turned smartly before slotting home at the near post. 2-0 soon became 3-0. A pass that resembled something from Liverpool’s defence over the weekend saw Clancy in on goal and he made no mistake.
Wilson in the Greenbank goal had very little to do other than claim a high ball, something his defence needed to give him a helping hand with, after a slight fumble.
In the second half and it was down to RNA to push for a goal. To their credit they started the better side without really testing the Greenbank goalkeeper. The home side weathered the storm and went 4-0 up through Shane Clancy who grabbed his hat-trick. A ball over the top saw him round the keeper and from a wide angle bear down on goal, skipping past a last ditch tackle before slotting home. At 4-0 it looked like Greenbank would coast home but after a few changes things started to look a little less confident for the home side.
RNA got themselves back in the game when a ball down the right lead to the right winger saw him advance into the box before finishing smartly with a shot that was high into the net. This came after Greenbank’s claims for a free kick in the build up. The home side could, and probably should, have been out of sight with Clancy blazing over, and a Fatchett header going over the bar. However, RNA grabbed another one back after some suspect goalkeeping from Wilson. The ball was played over the top which saw the striker in on goal, Wilson started to close down the striker but decided against it as the striker seemed inevitable to lob the ball over the keeper, only to scuff this across goal and nestle in the corner of the goal, to Wilson’s amazement.
There was nothing really to note following this and it is Greenbank who progress into a very difficult round one tie, away at Premier division side Rustons United on 9th October.
Hykeham Memorial 3
Metheringham FC 4
For the second week in a row Metheringham Manager Richard Hargrave was down to the bare bones when picking his team. This week just 11 made themselves available out of a massive squad of 29 players. Again team selection was not difficult and it was just a case of where the 11 players played. Their Division One opponents Hykeham Memorial had given Ivy Tavern a run for their money in the County Cup the previous week and the way they set off in this match it was not going to be a walk in the park for Meg. In truth Meg gave Hykeham too much respect sitting off them which allowed them plenty of the time on the ball to stroke it around confidently. Having weathered the early exchanges Meg took a surprise lead on 17 minutes when Jake Thorpe found Miles Lynch and his cross from the by-line was tucked away from close range by Aaron Harrison. Soon after Hykeham struck the post with a crisp shot but it was their long throws into the area which was causing the Meg defence the most problems. On the half hour Meg failed to clear one of them and when it fell just outside the area it was crisply fired home into the bottom corner of the Meg net. This saw Hykeham in the ascendancy and on 41 minutes Meg were undone by another long throw which was tapped home from close range. Then on the stroke of half time it was 3-1 to Hykeham with a fine header from a free kick on the left.
Meg were glad to see the break to clear their heads and this they certainly did as they opened the second half more than on the front foot. Pushing up they prevented the home side having the freedom they had enjoyed in the first half and it became a totally different game. Within 5 minutes Meg had pulled one goal back when Jayden Driver put a great ball across field to debutant Jac Wright who turned his marker and put the ball across the box for a simple tap in by the influential Andy Anderson. Now back in the game Meg put Hykeham on the back foot and the equaliser came on 58 minutes with an exquisite strike from fully 35 yards by Jake Thorpe with the Hykeham keeper stranded well off his line. Having been undone once the Hykeham keeper was then undone again just 4 minutes later when he was caught in possession by Jac Wright when trying to clear his lines and the ball finished in his net to give Meg a 4-3 lead. Try as they did Hykeham just could not get another equaliser and in a game which certainly was one of two halves Meg edged it by the odd goal in 7. Metheringham now face a trip to Division 2 side Bassingham Bugle Horn FC in the next round.
Saxilby Athletic 1
Hykeham Athletic 2
Division 4 side Hykeham Athletic produced perhaps the biggest cup upset of the day as they defeated division 1 side Saxilby Athletic. Hykeham were excellent in the first half and were unfortunate to only lead by one goal at the interval, Michael Bland finding the net at the second attempt after being put through one on one against Saxilby’s impressive goalkeeper. Inevitably the home team started to apply pressure on the Hykeham goal and eventually the scores were level as the ball was rather fortuitously deflected in. The match was very much end to end but it was Hykeham who scored what proved to be the winning goal with 15 minutes remaining. Good work down the right hand side ended with Bland squaring the ball for Barry McGann to apply a neat finish at the far post. Saxilby pushed for a second equaliser but the Hykeham defence stood firm with Ryan McGann putting in an exquisite performance.
Hykeham Athletic’s reward for this outstanding result is an away tie against another opponent from division one in the form of Welton FC in the next round.
Division 2
Railway Inn AFC 2
Plough Sturton 2
As possibly expected from two sides that drew in both meetings they had against each other last season the opening exchanges were fairly balanced with neither keeper being particularly tested other than coming and collecting through balls and crosses. It was the home side who took the lead when Spenny Bembridge fumbled his catch from a corner. The ball fell to the feet of a Railway player whose shot was blocked, again the ball fell to the feet of a Railway player and this time it was tucked away for the opener.
The rest of the first half was played out in much the same way with both sides looking for a breakthrough and Railway probably had the upper hand attacking downhill. The Plough were gifted an opportunity for an equaliser when Tom Everington was brought down in the box and a penalty was awarded. Up stepped the ever reliable Cal Hanrahan but he got it all wrong and put the spot kick over the bar.
In the second half the Plough were handed another golden opportunity for the equaliser. Despite a number of warnings from the referee the Railway keeper still had his hands on Joel Crosby and another penalty was awarded. With Hanrahan off the pitch he was unable to redeem himself for the earlier miss and Nick Webb was quick to pick up the ball and place it on the spot. The penalty was struck well to the keepers left but the Railway stopper produced a good save to tip the effort around the post. The Plough didn’t have to wait long to grab the equaliser though and after some great battling by Danny Humphreys to win the ball back in the middle he then played a nice ball into the path of Higginbottom whose shot across goal was tucked away nicely by the Railway defender. With the clock ticking down the Plough grabbed what looked to be the winner. Scott Barratt picked the ball up out wide and driving in towards the box he picked the run of Higginbottom with a perfect slotted pass and it was smashed home with a first time effort to put the Plough a goal up. All the Plough needed to do was see out the game without any poor decisions or mistakes. Unfortunately this wasn’t to be the case after a succession of errors saw the Railway wideman with time and space to pick a cross without being closed down. In truth it wasn’t a great ball but the header that met it was quality as it looped back across inside the far post for a last minute equaliser.
Division 3
Ingleby Arms FC (Marton) 4
Fox and Hounds FC 2
With pre-season completed and manager Mobbs doing several last minute deals to sign players he had been tracking for some time late at night in the Ingleby Arms, the new season kicked off last week against Wragby. Following Hodgson’s example he dismissed everything he had tried previously and opted for (after checking his calculator) an untried 4-1-3-1-1. It was ultimately unsuccessful and Wragby won with ease in the end. Spirits were not however deflated with all players realising it will be a long season.
Fox and Hounds travelled to face Ingleby who this week chose to go with a 4-4-2 formation. On a sunny morning it was Ingleby who started the brightest. For all their possession however they found the Fox and Hounds keeper in sparkling form. The Fox and Hounds attacks were repelled by the dominant Carrick, who took control of all the high balls, and with Delroy Cooke confidently organising and sweeping, the platform was set for Ingleby to wait patiently for their neat football to pay dividends. Benson and Riseborough provided the width and crosses that troubled the Fox defence all game.
The deadlock was broken on 30 minutes when Kitchinson’s persistence paid off as he drilled the ball home from a narrow angle after beating 2 defenders. A Docker corner hit the bar and it was left to Carrrick to score his first goal for the club after he controlled the dropping ball at the far post and slotted it home. Fox and Hounds, on the stroke of half time, scored a disputed goal after a corner was cleared and from the resulting high ball back into the box it looked like keeper Kelly was bundled as the ball ended up in the net. Referees are paid to make the decisions and without them there would be no football. This gave Fox and Hounds confidence and they were the team in the ascendancy for the first twenty minutes of the second half. Ingleby were forced into a couple changes, Bland (arriving after an “incident” at Tesco’s) replaced the injured Carrick, and the influential Wilkins had to leave the field after 60 minutes. Wisdom-Lockwood and Fullwood in the middle were left to try and wrestle back control for Ingleby. In an attempt to regain the offensive advantage the defensively dependable Horgan was replaced for forward Dawson who took only 3 minutes to restore a 2 goal advantage when he finished clinically from close range. Any thoughts of seeing the game out were cut short as Fox deservedly got the goal their efforts deserved. However, with just 6 minutes to go Kitchinson went clear and finished with a neat clip over the excellent Hounds keeper.
Ingleby MOM was Carl Kitchinson
Ingleby Manager’s thoughts: “I gave an inspirational speech, it only took a week for it to sink in.”
Division 4
The Shed FC 2
Coningsby FC 11
Coningsby FC followed up their convincing opening week win with another large victory against The Shed FC. After an even start to the game it was The Shed who took the lead after 15 mins when a shot was saved by the Coningsby keeper and the The Shed striker followed it up to tap in the rebound. This came as a wake up call to Coningsby and within 2 minutes they were level. Ash Webb latching on to a through ball and slotting it past the keeper. With their tails now up Coningsby began to push and with 30 minutes on the clock Tom Sewell made it 2-1 rounding the keeper to finish from a tight angle. Soon after it was 3-1 as Stu Thomson ran through to fire the ball in to the roof of the net. Half –time: The Shed 1 Coningsby 3
Coningsby kicked off the 2nd half playing some neat football looking to break down a Shed team that came out well organised after their half time team talk. The resistance was finally broken after 10 minutes when James Todd fired low past the keeper. Soon after it was 5 as a defensive clearance fell to Ben Brown at the edge of the box to rifle home. Brown then turned provider as he headed a free kick across the box for Lee Scanlan to tap in from close range. It was now one way traffic and Brown added another to the tally when he curled the ball into the top corner from 20 yards to leave the Shed keeper rooted to the spot. 2 minutes later Tom Sewell got his second of the game before Danny Smith rose well at a corner to make it 9-1. To The Shed FC’s credit they continued to work hard throughout the game and were rewarded with their second goal after some good football saw a ball crossed into the box for their striker to finish. Coningsby though had the last say as the game came to its conclusion, Andy chapman scoring a great goal after lobbing the keeper before Ben Brown completed his hat-trick in the 90th minute, tapping in from close range to leave the final score The Shed F C 2 – 11 Coningsby FC.
Ian Stephenson