Match Report | Stratford Town (H)
Halesowen overcome tough weather conditions to earn a replay in the FA Cup First Qualifying Round
Match Report
The Yeltz took the lead for just the second time in our fourth home game so far this season. A Jourdain Masidi pass was cut out by Kyle Finn, whose shot deflected off Josh Roney and into the feet of Jason Cowley to tap home his third goal of the campaign. Stratford failed to have a shot in the opening 15, but two minutes later found an equaliser against the run of play. A shot from Henry Landers smashed off the post, before the rebound fell to Dan Lafferty to tap past a helpless Dan Platt.
The Yeltz could have easily scored twice in the opening quarter of the hour alone. A Todd Parker interception just outside the penalty area later saw him distribute to Finn. The latter found Reece Mitchell whose cross flicked off Masidi for a corner. The delivery taken short by Finn, and back to the Yeltz playmaker allowed him to cross into the middle, but the ball was flicked away by the head of Kory Roberts. A bursting run on the 10th minute almost added a second, after a Cassidy cross flicked off Fin Brennan, and made it’s way to McKauley Manning to shoot over the bar.
As the rain intensified, Stratford’s equaliser started the change of momentum, and with it came chances for both sides after the half way mark of the first 45. The midfielder formerly of Stourbridge, Masidi, spotted Landers in the centre, who passed out wide to Lewis Ison. The latter won a corner off Cassidy, and the cross from Brennan caused a scramble in the middle before a clearance from Jamie Willets. A pass from the right full back Roberts was fizzed out to Roney. The latter who played at step 5 last season had his switch of play cut out by Manning. The Yeltz winger lost out to Brennan, but Cassidy was on the cover and to his rescue.
After Stratford’s double opportunity to take the lead before the interval, it was soon our turn. A lobbed pass forward from Parker was controlled superbly by Manning on his chest in the box, but he was crowded out in the box by Roberts and former Yeltz captain Paul McCone. This meant Manning’s shot was scuffed and comfortably made it’s way to Jacob Weaver in the Bards goal. The best chance for a second fell to Cassidy. The ball which was shield well by a sliding Finn up against Masidi allowed him to find the forward pass to Parker. The latter spotted the bombing run of Cassidy on the far right, whose effort went inches wide of the left post.
The rain seemed to have passed at the start of the second 45 when both sides went close to taking the lead. A Landers battle through the middle saw him pass to ex Yeltz man Josh Hawker, who spotted an overlap of the left from Brennan. The latter hit a cross to Ty Deacon in the middle, whose shot was blocked on route to goal. Five minutes later Josh Smile showed his agility skills to fend off multiple Bards men in the middle and play a cross field pass to Cassidy. The defender spotted the run of Finn through the centre, whose low strike into the bottom right was saved.
Just after the hour mark, a Cassidy cross on the right was headed away by McCone, but only as far as Butterfield. The Yeltz midfielder making his 24th appearance for the club, set his sights on the edge of the area, but had his shot saved. A ball from back to front from Weaver to Deacon was initially misjudged by Willets, who made up for it by clearing away for a corner. The delivery from Brennan went onto the edge of the box, and was awkwardly cleared by Smile. The first substitution of the match came minutes later in the 65th minute, but it took Russ Penn until the 82nd minute to make his first sub.
The attacks in the second 45 from us flowed down the right, and in particular through Cassidy. The latter forced a sharp stop at an angle from Weaver, in which two corners followed, the second crossed in by Parker and cleared by centre forward Deacon. A Cassidy cross was cleared by Roney, shortly before a free kick was awarded after a foul on Parker. The delivery from Finn flew into Cowley yards out, but his shot went over the bar. The Yeltz number three Cassidy later won another free kick after beating Brennan for pace and being taken out by Roberts. The Finn ball was punched away by Weaver and cleared by substitute defender Harry Reilly.
The replay drew closer to a given, and with it came both sides desperate attempts to snatch it late on. A Stratford corner after Dan Platt misjudged the bounce of the ball, was delivered in by Brennan. The fullback could only find the head of Willets, to give the away side the chance to deliver in a corner from the opposite side. This one was taken by Landers, and headed away by Yeltz substitute Richard Gregory at the front post. Three minutes of added time was announced, and with it came the last chances of the game, some superb goalkeeping from Platt, and a 1v1 Weaver save at the opposite end from Finn’s curled shot. A replay it is at The Arden Garages Stadium on Tuesday night at 7:45pm. A frustrating added game to a packed fixture list, but with it keeps our cup run hopes alive.
Attendance : 807
Yeltz Man of the Match : Todd Parker
Teams
Yeltz XI : Dan Platt (GK), Ben Cassidy, Josh Smile, Ryan Wollacott, Todd Parker (Harry Burns 82′), Jason Cowley (Richard Gregory 82′), Kyle Finn, McKauley Manning, Milan Butterfield, Jamie Willets (C), Reece Mitchell
Unused Subs : Jak Hickman, Alex Gudger, Jim Kellermann, Martin Riley, Gael Mfuamba (GK)
Stratford XI : Jacob Weaver (GK), Fin Brennan, Josh Hawker (Harry Reilly 65′), Kory Roberts, Henry Landers, Lewis Ison, Ty Deacon (Owen James 90+1′), Dan Lafferty (Cyrus Bruce 82′), Paul McCone (C), Jourdain Masidi, Josh Roney
Unused Subs : Alex Collard, Jamie Molyneux, Jason Mukawa (GK), AJ George
Jamie Willets Post Match
“It was a tough game. Stratford have some really good players and are a well established step 3 side. Out of all the sides in the draw we were slightly unlucky to get them, but I thought we showed a decent account of ourselves today. We owed the fans an apology and reaction to Monday, and despite the result not being what we wanted the performance was a positive. The replay on Tuesday is not ideal but if you ask any player they would rather play than train. It is tough on the legs and to regroup so quickly, but we are used to it now at this level. The fans are like our 12th man, they support us in numbers and drive us on. A few may have been detured from coming today after Monday, but the attendance and support was still fantastic.”