Ian Corbishley reports from Congleton Town v AFC Fylde.
Congleton Town were denied an outright place in the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup by a last minute AFC Fylde goal from a free kick. As it was the Bears could be very proud of their performance against a team from the National League North and can go into the replay full of confidence.
On a sunny afternoon and on a good- looking surface in front of a raucous crowd of over 1,100 Congleton began confidently, pressing Fylde hard in midfield with Hartshorn and Jones-Griffiths prominent. However, the first shot at goal came from Fylde’s Ligendza but was well over.
The first clear chance fell to Congleton on nine minutes. Johns broke way down the Congleton right and he squared the ball for Lewis Short whose snapshot from twenty yards was only a yard wide of Neal’s left hand post.
With the crowd behind them it was Congleton who were having the better of the game and Fylde, with Andy Taylor in charge after James Rowe left during the week, were looking shaky. On fifteen minutes a powerful shot from Jones-Griffiths was well turned aside by Neal with a free kick from Haughton, turned over by Parton, being the visitors only dangerous effort. Johns was proving to be a danger to Fylde and a deep cross from him found Needham at the far post and he should have done better with his attempt.
Fylde were dealt a further blow on twenty- three minutes when Cranston had to go off to be replaced by Conlan, with what looked like a pulled hamstring after a tackle from the excellent Griffiths.
As the half wore on Fylde did seem to settle a little, without being particularly dangerous. They played nice passing football in midfield but lacked a cutting edge from Ligendza, Philliskirk or Whitehead. Under increasing pressure up to half-time, the home supporters began to wonder if Congleton would rue the missed chances. This was especially so on forty-three minutes when a Fylde shot came back off the woodwork and the skipper, Whitmore, put the ball into the net. Much to the relief of most of the crowd the assistant’s flag had already gone up for offside.
The second half began much as the first half had finished, with Fylde dominating territory and possession but being well marshalled by the Congleton defence. Town were now playing largely on the break using the pace of Johns and Needham whilst Pope was getting little change in the air out of the towering Whitmore. Fylde were limited to a cross shot dragged wide by Bird and a shot from Legendze which was straight into Parton’s arms. That was one of the striker’s last efforts as he was replaced just before the hour by Joe Rowley.
Congleton were struggling to break out of their own half but when they did, they almost broke the deadlock. Nsaka made a great interception off the toe of a Fylde player and used his pace to get into the box where his cross was just cleared for a corner with Needham ready to pounce.
Fylde did look as if they were running out of attacking ideas, but it was still against the general run of play when Congleton took the lead on seventy-six minutes. For once Pope managed to get his head on a long ball out of defence from Griffiths and as the ball dropped in the Fylde penalty area Needham swung his boot at it. It may have taken a slight deflection off a defender, but the result was that the ball looped past the despairing Neal and into the net for a famous Congleton goal.
With so little time left there was now a touch of desperation about Fylde’s attacking efforts. Congleton continued to soak up the pressure without Parton’s goal being seriously threatened.
On eighty -eight minutes the tiring Johns was replaced by Sankey and almost immediately the substitute set up an opportunity to make the game safe for Congleton. Picking up a loose ball around the half -way line he sprinted clear of the Fylde defence and squared the ball for Needham. The goal scorer took just a little too long over his shot and it was blocked by a Fylde defender.
By now the crowd were encouraging the referee to blow for full time but there was to be one last drama. A trip on a Fylde player led to a free kick right on the edge of the Congleton penalty area. Haughton stepped up to take it and, with only seconds remaining, he curled the ball around the wall to the left of Parton and into the top corner of the net.
The final whistle blew soon afterwards with the Congleton players looked devastated, having come close so close to being outright contenders in the Fourth Qualifying Round. At least they still are in that draw and can be very proud of their efforts. On top of that with the large crowd and tv money it had been an excellent day for the club finances
The replay will be at the Mill Farm ground on Tuesday, October 4th ko 7.45 pm
Congleton Town: Parton, Williams, Nsaka, Jones -Griffiths, Read, Chadwick, Johns, Hartshorn, Pope, Short, Needham. Subs: Beaumont, Faulkner, Sankey, Griffiths, Clarke, Hampton, Hall
AFC Fylde: Neal, Morrison, Whitmore, Bird, Walker, Cranston, Weston, Philliskirk, Whitehead, Haughton, Ligendza. Subs: Obi, Rowley, Conlan, Hatfield, Davis, Patten, Barnett
