Andrew Brown makes progress in the second half of the match.
Tuesday, 19 August 2014
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round Replay
Goalscorers: SRCA: None Bishop Auckland: Davis, Sakr
Please click here for photos from the match.
Please click here for Peter Jackson's photos.
After Friday's excellent performance in the second half at Heritage Park it was back to Meadow Park for this FA Cup Replay.
Unfortunately due to work commitments both Coe and Lewis Wood were unavailable for the replay and Hughes was injured playing on Sunday. Their places were taken by Brown and Horsman with Halliday returning after suspension and taking his place on the bench. The team was reshuffled to accommodate the changes in personnel.
Bishops took advantage of the slope in the first half and went on the attack from the off Megran forcing a save from charmichael in the second minute.
Two minutes later and an unfortunate slip by Horsman allowed Thompson room on the right and the winger cut inside to shoot, but Wray was able to deflect the ball for a corner.
RCA responded with a good move which saw Stanger lay the ball into the path of Callen but he fired over the bar.
Bishops pressed forward again and in the ninth minute took the lead. When RCA didn't clear an attack the ball broke to Davis who fired home from 20 yards out.
The game then became a midfield battle with the referee blowing his whistle for every tackle or nudge and both teams became very frustrated. There was little of the free flowing football that was seen on Friday, maybe it was the occasion, maybe the referee, or maybe the tension on the pitch whichever it was the game became very scrappy.
It wasn't until the half hour mark that either side produced anything like a chance and it was a great reverse pass from Stanger which fell to Morris inside the penalty area the RCA striker took the ball forward before curling in his shot but Pocklington saved brilliantly to deny the equaliser.
Almost immediately at the other end a slip by Wray saw him chest the ball into the path of Butler whose shot was blocked by Preston before McNab cleared up field.
Bishops had picked up the pace again towards the end of the half and efforts by Butler and Davis were wide of the mark.
In the final minute of the half Bishops produced a great move when Lavery picked the ball up inside his own half played a one-two with Davis before sliding the ball to Tarling who drilled in a terrific shot which Wray blocked before scrambling clear. In doing so the RCA defender injured himself and didn't appear for the second half.
As on Friday, RCA came out of the dressing room on fire, kicking with the slope they settled into their passing game quickly and it was only some good defending which stopped Morris and then Callen from getting in shots.
In the 50th minute RCA were awarded a freekick on the edge of the box when Callen was fouled by Elliott Woods. The kick was taken by Stanger whose curling shot hit the upright and went behind for a goal kick .
Bishops moved on to the attack with Thompson crossing into the box where Butler got in a great header forcing a point blank reaction save from Carmichael and a minute later a cross into the box was headed wide by Davis.
RCA responded by sending bodies forward and a long ball forward from Horsman was chested down by Morris into the path of Callen who slotted the ball wide to Jury who, racing in from the right, fired into the side netting.
Two minutes later and Wood slipped the ball to Stanger who found Callen on the edge of the box but he was quickly closed down and could only produce a weak shot which Pocklington saved easily.
As in the first half there was a period when the referee kept stopping the game and it degenerated into scrappy mayhem. Neither side seemed capable of stringing two passes together and if they did there was a niggly foul to stop play.
In the 75th minute a lovely piece of skill from Morris saw him control a through ball from McNab, dribble past three defenders before curling a shot past Pocklington unfortunately it also cleared the far post.
RCA piled forward in search of the equaliser committing more players forward which left gaps at the back.
In the 85th minute Jury pick up the ball on the edge of the box before turning and producing another good save from Pocklington.
In the 88th minute, with RCA overcommitted, Bishops broke through Sakr, and although his initial shot was stopped he followed up to convert and send the away team supporters into raptures.
The disappointment was obvious for all to see, but it was more frustration than anything else, the small margins that seperate teams at this level are compounded when officials make simple mistakes and on Friday the non-penalty decision has come back to haunt us.
These decisions always seem to happen when we play Bishops in the cup at Heritage Park.