First half goals from Will Whieldon and Kingsley Adu-Gyamfi helped Kidsgrove progress in the Buildbase FA Trophy at Southern Premier League side Daventry Town.
Whieldon scored his first goal for the club on 23 minutes when he hit a delightful lob over James Martin for 1-0 and, then Kingsley Adu-Gyamfi cut inside before beating Martin with a low drive for 2-0.
The scoreline could have been a cricket score as Adu-Gyamfi had a penalty saved before the Kidsgrove hit the woodwork twice and Daventry goalkeeper Martin made several fines saves to keep the scoreline down.
Daventry could have taken an early lead when Luke Emery hit the crossbar with a decent chance that beat Kieran Harrison, thankfully for the Grove the woodwork came to their rescue to keep the score at 0-0.
Whieldon should have had his first goal of the season on 12 minutes when he looked destined to score from just inside the area. However, Daventry were able to clear it off the line.
Whieldon wouldn’t have to wait much longer for his goal as he opened the scoring on 21 minutes when a long ball by Harrison bounced through to the former Chasetown man who hit a delightful lob over Martin in the goal.
The Grove doubled their lead just seven minutes before the half-time break when Adu-Gyamfi was able to cut inside and unleash a powerful shot into the bottom corner. It was a strike very similar to Kyle Diskin’s goal on Tuesday night against Market Drayton Town and, it certainly put the Grove in the driving seat.
Adu-Gyamfi is in his second season with the club and, you can see how much he has come on in leaps and bounds since last season. His performances has helped him get three goals already this season as well as several assists.
Malbon could have made it 3-0 just after the restart when Adu-Gyamfi played the ball to him inside the area. However, his shot would hit the crossbar and bounce away to safety.
Will Byers is one of a few players who has stepped up from the North West Counties league over the summer and has taken to life in the Northern Premier League like a duck to water. He is getting forward at every opportunity and not being frightened to have a pop at goal when possible.
He won the Grove a penalty on 65 minutes when he was tripped in the area by Dan Childs. Up stepped Adu-Gyamfi, who scored a penalty at Cambridge in the last round, sadly this time his well-taken penalty was a decent hight for Martin to save and keep the score at 2-0.
The second half’s main talking point came just three minutes later when Luke Emery and Josh Thorpe were involved in an off the ball incident that neither player would let lie. Emery seemed to have caught Thorpe leaving the referee with no option but to show him two consecutive yellow cards followed by a red, leaving the hosts with ten men for the rest of the game, while Thorpe and Malbon got booked in the incident.
Kidsgrove pressed home their man advantage and, Adu-Gyamfi was the next player to rattle the crossbar when he hit a dinked effort towards the goal. However, the woodwork stopped Kidsgrove going 3-0 up.
Malbon and Whieldon had chances late on to confirm the victory. However, neither could find a way past Martin but, it wouldn’t matter as the work in the first half was enough to see Kidsgrove through to the next round.
The draw for the next round will be made at 1 pm on Monday and, we will have all the information on the draw on social media as all three of our North Staffordshire sides- Leek, Kidsgrove and Newcastle Town are all in the hat.
Daventry Town: Martin, McNeil, Childs, Ross Harris, Jarvis Wilson, Joe Massaro (Reilly, 73), Orosz (Elmore, 78), Coleman, Emery, Nketia (Ball, 60) and Bowen.
Unused subs: Ball, Parsons and Cerga.
Kidsgrove Athletic: Harrison, Byers, Bergin, Bromfield, Gunnell (Bridge, 78), Thorpe, Diskin (Hickman, 88), Blake, Adu-Gyamfi (Chesters, 84), Malbon and Whieldon.
Unused subs: Lovatt and Cocks.
Attendance:
