FA Cup Extra Preliminary Road
at The Abbey Stadium, Goredale Avenue, Gorton, Manchester
Abbey Hey (0) 3
George Noon 54, Jon Hardy 75, 90
Worksop Town (0) 1
Adam Ward 49
Admission £5. Programme sold out. Attendance 180
Photo link: Click HERE
Be in no doubt, Abbey Hey wholly warranted their win today, they were more clinical in front of goal and worked very hard for each other, while the Tigers looked decidedly average at times, as they crashed to their second defeat in four days.
But, it needs to be said, for purposes of clarification and to uphold the accuracy and credibility of this overview, whilst striving to be both objective and as neutral as possible; that there was some mighty strange stuff going on out on that pitch this afternoon and most of it centred around the match referee Mr Paul Ince.
I'm not just saying that because I wanted Worksop Town to win and they didn't, because in truth the full time score reflected both team's performances out on the lush Abbey Stadium turf fairly and squarely, on this gloriously sunny afternoon in Gorton, Manchester.
But it needs putting on record, that regardless of anything else: Mr Ince had an absolute shocker.
Maybe it is a regional thing and they do actually govern games differently over this way, but in all honesty... I know a crap ref when I see one. And though they're not allowed to badmouth officials on public forums, I'm sure that there were players in both camps that would agree with those sentiments.
To compound matters, some guilty parties who were involved in an unsightly incident (see video below) escaped punishment, whilst Henshaw bore the brunt for having been in the wrong place at the wrong time, when the referee's only intention seemed to be a desire to even things up after he had decided to send off Abbey Hey's Danny Hewitt, for his part in an altercation that ensued when, with the ball still in open play, the home side's goalkeeper Jon McIlwaine threw a punch at Henshaw and wrestled him to the ground as they both challenged to get onto the end of a Connor Sellars free kick.
McIlwaine was booked for his transgression(s) but no penalty was awarded.
But, even if the Tigers would have had a 10 against 9 numerical advantage and a substitute keeper to put under the cosh for most of the afternoon, though it pains me to say this, it was their frailties at the other end of the pitch that ultimately cost them the game and left them woefully exposed against a very well organised home side. Hopefully the injured Worksop players will make a quick recovery or it's going to be a very thin time for Mark Shaw's side for a while.
The visitors are a joy to watch at times and play some aesthetically gorgeous almost sexy football, but they have perhaps lacked that bit of steel and bite that is required to compete at Step 5 football, in the two games I have seen them play over this past week.
The referee and his assistant, who hadn't kept up with play all afternoon missed the fact that Ward was in a blatantly offside position when he received the ball, but hey ho!
"I believe that kind of thing is called karma, isn't it!?" Called out a disgruntled Tigers fan. Who told me to: "F*** off!" when I asked him if that was a genuine case of things balancing themselves out over the course of the ninety minutes. Either way their was a strong odour of crappy incompetence emanating from the man in the middle.
George Noon equalised for the home side inside five minutes, when the visitors defence played pass the parcel with the ball from a set piece situation, instead of putting a boot through it and getting rid, which presented Abbey Hey with the simplest of opportunities to level things up.
Thankfully, for Worksop, Ashford Blake had left his shooting boots at home today (so to speak) and he squandered a series of gilt edged chances.
Jon Kennedy kept Danny McDonnell at bay, but could only turn the ball away from a Sam Freaks free kick into the path of Jon Hardy who gratefully put the Gorton based side ahead.
It had been coming.
Worksop had to chuck everything into attack now, but came up against some very determined defending, while McIlwaine, who shouldn't still have been on the pitch, did well to deny Elliott.
But it was a case of too little too late for the Tigers, who wouldn't be going home with any fond memories of their visit to Goredale Avenue.
As the Worksop fans drifted away, one of them levelled a volley of verbal abuse at the Tigers management team.
They aren't responsible for injuring the players who were unavailable today, nor did they go AWOL and leave Jon Kennedy exposed and sans any back up when his goal was under siege... and it certainly wasn't them who sent Ross Henshaw off, or gt a first half penalty decision so terribly wrong. Not that they will be looking to use any of the above as excuses... they know what needs to be done.
All other issues aside, lets not lose sight of the fact that Abbey Hey deserve to still be in the FA Cup on meri because the best team on the day wont.
Good luck to them in the next round against Warrington.
Worksop are back in league action on Tuesday night at Garforth Town, no doubt they'll be relieved to hear that I won't be going.
FT: Abbey Hey 3 v Worksop Town 1
You Tube footage from this afternoon's game
