Abbey Hulton United are in the hat for the 4th round of the Edward Case Cup following a 2-1 victory over Wythenshawe Amateurs at a baltic Drayton Beaumont stadium.
Substitute Fitzroy Butler won the game for the Abbey with just eight minutes to go when he steered home a corner after Amateurs goalkeeper Bruno Da Silva dropped the set piece. It was the least the Abbey deserved having been forced to make several changes due to injuries and player availability.
Dan Cope almost gave the hosts the perfect start after just three minutes of play when he hit the post. Joey Bristow did well to get to the byline before pulling the ball back across to Cope at the far post, he looked certain to score but sadly he was to hit the woodwork.
Wythenshawe, meanwhile, are the pacesetters in the North West Counties League South division as they sit at the top of the table and, you could certainly see why as they settled into the game after 10 minutes and began to dictate the play. They looked to get the ball to their top scorer Joseph Bevan at every opportunity they could and, he was involved in the Amateur’s best chance of the first half as he played the ball to Jardell Depeiaza, sadly for the visitors, their attacker put the shot over Dom Kurasik’s crossbar.
The best chance of the first half no doubt came on 30 minutes when Matthew Ward pinched the ball off a Wythenshawe defender who looked to carry the ball out of defence. Ward then played it out to Liam Robinson whose low cross fell to Ward who had advanced into the penalty area. He took a touch to set himself but, with Da Silva tearing out of his goal the midfielder disappointedly put the chance over the crossbar.
While the first half was not poor, it lacked the cutting edge to raise the spirits of the 50 supporters inside the ground. However, the second half was certainly going to be a more entertaining game of football and, it all started just three minutes into the second half when the hosts took the lead.
It all stemmed from Wythenshawe looking for a penalty as Bevan went down in the area, however, the referee Ryan Davies emphatically waved away the appeal. The Abbey Hulton defence cleared the ball long down the field and, it fell to Ward who went one-on-one with Da Silva and calmly slotted the ball beyond the keeper and into the back of the net.
Abbey Hulton should have been 2-0 up just eight minutes later when Robinson had a chance from the edge of the area, but it was well saved by Da Silva. A better choice might have been by playing the ball to Cope who was in a fantastic position just inside the area.
That missed chance could have come back to bite Abbey Hulton as the visitors got an equaliser on the hour mark when defender Paul Riley got forward before playing the ball to Bevan. The forward is used to being the man at the end of the move but, this time he was the provider as he played it across the goal for Riley at the back post to finish the move that he started.
The goal spurred the visitors on and, they could have taken the lead with just 15 minutes to go when Kurasik parried a long-range effort straight into the path of Bevan. He was expected to score but, the former Kidsgrove Athletic and Newcastle Town goalkeeper made a fine recovery save to deny him.
As the game ticked towards a potential penalty shootout to decide who would progress, Abbey won a series of corners that Da Silva did not look 100% confident in catching them. One of them slipped through the gloves of Da Silva and, the ball eventually fell to Butler who stabbed the ball home to restore Abbey’s lead with just four minutes to go.
It is a fantastic result for the boys in Orange as they progress to the fourth round and now with the favourites out of the competition, there is no reason why the side managed by Russell Leadbetter cannot go on and win the trophy.
After the game, I spoke to Abbey Hulton United manager Russell Leadbetter to get his thoughts on the game.
Abbey Hulton United: Kurasik, Igwenwanne, J.Weldon, Thomas (Butler, 77), Tams, Catalano, Ward, Robinson,Cope (Smedley, 73) and Birstow.
Unused subs: Cropper, Rhodes and Lewis.
Wythenshawe Amateurs: Da Silva, Worth, Lamb, Adewusi (Howard, 53), Riley, Oknonwo, Pollard (Moloney, 88), Ly (Campbell,57), Bevan, Curtis and Depeiaza (Hajri, 33).
Unused sub: Aikenhead.
Attendance: 50
