Monday, January 16, 2012
Wealdstone are through to the last sixteen of the FA Carlsberg Trophy after beating Conference Premier club Barrow 2-1 at Grosvenor Vale on Saturday. They were joined in today's draw by Carshalton and East Thurrock, who both face replays tomorrow, after deservedly drawing against Conference opposition. The game at Wealdstone was the only tie of the round featuring two former winners of the competition. Stones enjoyed a Wembley triumph in 1985, and Barrow did so five years later, a success they repeated in 2010.
Richard Jolly hit a Barrow post early in the game, which was then delayed for some twenty-five minutes, while visiting goalkeeper Danny Hurst was treated for a head injury. He was taken to hospital and replaced by Shaun Pearson. When play resumed, it was Barrow who broke the deadlock in the forty-first minute. A through ball from Adam Boyes sent Richie Baker clear to score. Stones hit back hard after the break. Jolly equalised with a stunning volley in the fifty-first minute, his ninth goal in the competition and twenty-eighth in all, and Watford loanee Britt Assombalonga grabbed the winner from a corner on the hour.
The other two Ryman League survivors both had narrow escapes in the closing moments. Carshalton produced an outstanding performance to draw 0-0 at Conference Premier club Lincoln, for whom Alan Power struck the bar in added time. Paul Vines had earlier hit a post for the Robins.
East Thurrock should perhaps have done better than their 1-1 draw against Hampton, but the Conference South outfit almost stole it at the death, when Josh Huggins hit a post. They had taken an eleventh minute lead when Tom Stephen deflected a cross into his own net, after which Rocks were well on top without finding their finishing touch. Sam Higgins hit a post in the first half, and it was Higgins who eventually equalised in the eightieth minute, firing in the rebound after Craig Ross saved from Simon Peddie.
The only Ryman League club to go out were leaders Hornchurch, who were beaten 4-0 at in form Conference Premier club Grimsby. It was a harsh scoreline for Urchins, who played some delightful one touch football, but lacked a cutting edge in the absence of suspended top scorer Martin Tuohy. The second Shaun Pearson to appear in this report headed Grimsby in front from an eleventh minute corner, and Anthony Elding tapped in to make it 2-0 just before the half hour. Elding, unmarked, headed the third in added time at the end of the first half to leave Urchins with a near impossible task. Michael Spencer almost gave them hope a minute after the break, but his shot cannoned off a post. Although Hornchurch dominated possession after that, and Tommy Black had a close range effort blocked on the line, it was the Mariners who completed the scoring, with a superb strike by Conor Townsend in the seventy-second minute.
With neither of the top two sides in league action on Saturday, Billericay had the chance to leapfrog them both, and they duly reclaimed first place with a comfortable 2-0 home win over Wingate. Richard Halle gave them the lead with a twelfth minute penalty, after a foul on Jay May, and centre back Rob Swaine headed the second on the hour, confirming his position as the club's leading scorer with twelve goals in all competitions.
Fourth placed Lewes were held to a 1-1 home draw by Kingstonian, after taking the lead with a seventeenth minute penalty by Paul Booth, awarded for a foul on Harry Harding. They were unable to press home their advantage, and K's deservedly levelled through Stuart Duff with nine minutes left.
Cray's home game against Tooting fell victim to a frozen pitch, leaving Bury as the only other team in the top ten to see action. They failed to capitalise, going down 4-2 at Concord. Steve King's header gave the hosts the lead midway through the first half, but Lee Smith replied six minutes later. Goals by Sherwin Stanley and Harry Elmes in the last four minutes of the half put Concord in command, and Stanley headed another in the fifty-eighth minute. Lee Reed pulled one back in the seventy-sixth minute, but that was all the visitors could manage, as the Beachboys further eased their relegation fears.
Canvey matched their island neighbours with a 4-2 victory at Aveley, though Millers were unlucky to gain no reward for their second half fightback. John Easterford's header gave Canvey the lead after twenty minutes, and Bradley Woods-Garness, who earlier hit the bar, added a second on the stroke of half time. Millers had won 3-0 at Canvey in September, the first of their three league victories so far, and they gave themselves a chance of completing the double. Dave Knight reduced the arrears on sixty-five minutes, and levelled the scores with eight minutes of normal time to play. But Canvey had the last words with a pair of goals in added time. Jay Curran headed them into a 3-2 lead, and Jason Hallett was credited with the fourth, after an attempted clearance by home keeper Adam Rafis struck him and rebounded into the net.
Aveley, in twenty-first place, are nine points adrift of safety, and six points ahead of bottom club Horsham, who went down 2-0 in a poor game at Harrow. Danny Buckle opened the scoring after twenty-seven minutes, and Tristan Toney completed it five minutes after the break.
The crunch game at the bottom was at Leatherhead. They beat Hastings 2-0 to move up to nineteenth, three points behind their defeated opponents with two games in hand. Tommy Hutchings missed a penalty for Tanners in the thirty-seventh minute. But they were awarded another spot kick three minutes after the interval and Mark Simmons made no mistake. Hutchings added the second midway through the half.