Match report from last night's FA Youth Cup tie between AFC Stoneham and Hereford which the Young Bulls won on penalties and therefore are in the draw for the first round proper of the competition.
AFC
Stoneham came flying out of the blocks, pressing hard and aggressively.
Despite this Hereford combined quickly with a Frank Pemberton pass
sending Charlie Corten free on the left-hand side
to deliver a dangerous ball into the box, where an AFC Stoneham header
fell for Archie Muirhead to smash the ball into the net.
Moments later
Hereford found themselves defending a corner, where a free header set up
a volley, which was crashed into the net
for a Stoneham equaliser. Stoneham continued to be the stronger side
until the 35th minute, with their channel balls and runners
in behind the Hereford defence causing problems. As the half came to a
close, Hereford managed to get more of a foothold
in the game, with neither side particularly creating too many chances.
The
second half saw Hereford dominate for long periods, creating several
good chances with some excellent saves from the Stoneham goalkeeper,
however it took a fine save from Iwan Hooper in
the dying moments to keep the Bulls in the tie.
Hereford’s
dominance continued into extra time, creating several chances again
early on. A Jack Rosser switch of play set free Morgan Evans who drove
into the box, before thumping the ball
past the Stoneham goalkeeper. Although Hereford continued to dominate,
they failed to convert several good chances to put the tie out of
Stoneham’s reach. With the last moment of the game, Stoneham punished
Hereford, when a cross into the box was headed home,
leaving the Bulls with no time to respond.
Stoneham
elected to go first in the shootout, with their first taker dispatching
his penalty, although Iwan Hooper did get a hand to the ball. Rob
Whitlock stepped up and placed his effort
into the bottom corner to bring the bulls level. Stoneham again scored,
taking a 2-1, again Hooper got a hand to the ball. Toby Raison stepped
up and smashed his penalty into the top corner, again pulling the bulls
level and leaving the keeper with no chance.
Iwan Hooper made an excellent save to his left hand side to deny
Stoneham and give the Bulls the chance to take the lead, with Jack
Rosser dispatching his penalty to do just that. Hooper again went the
right way for the fourth Stoneham penalty, with the ball
crashing off the crossbar. Charlie Corten stepped up to take the
deciding penalty for the bulls, the keeper guessed correctly, but
couldn’t prevent the ball from crossing the line, leading to a 4-2 win
for the bulls.
A
performance from Hereford that showed great character from the players,
responding so well to win the game despite conceding the equaliser late
on.