Stone Old Alleynians kissed goodbye to their participation in this year’s Buildbase FA Vase after going 2-1 ahead in the game before conceding disastrous goals in the 89th and 90th minute.
Match Report:
The first half was mainly dominated by Heather St John’s as they played the ball around skilfully in midfield with Alleynians chasing round to try and get the ball off them. However, despite their possession, Jack Tomlinson did see an overhead kick go just over on 16 minutes. 5 minutes later, keeper Adam Alcock was called into action for the Old Boys to keep out a well-struck shot from 25 yards.
Heather St John’s finally took advantage of their possession after 30 minutes when they made a good run down the left-wing and crossed into the middle for James Spruce to fire home from the centre of the penalty area and put his team up 1-0.
The visitors were all over the home team at this point and should have scored at least two more with a close effort from 10 yards and a great shot from 25 yards which just went wide.
In the 38th minute, the hosts started to get into the game. Old Boys’ striker Jack Tomlinson almost got onto a Matt Thomas header and two minutes later Alleynians were awarded a penalty after Dave Ablewhite was impeded on his way into the opposition box. As the home team penalty-taker, Ablewhite stepped up and slammed the spot-kick into the visitors’ net to make the scores 1-1.
Two minutes later, Ablewhite put in a great cross from the left, only for Sam Wilson to head over when he might have put Alleynians in the lead just before half time.
Half time: Stone Old Alleynians 1-1 Heather St John’s
The start of the 2nd half saw Alleynians being much more willing to get amongst their skilful opposition. They were getting far more possession but it was a freekick in the 56th minute from penalty king Ablewhite which sailed just over the Heather bar from the edge of the penalty area. Within two minutes, a bit of football trickery by skipper Matt Thomas, gave him space to put over a perfect cross for Sam Wilson to climb above his marker and head the ball home for a 2-1 Alleynians lead.
This shook the visitors into life for the first time in the second half and they started to put some sustained pressure on the Old Boys defence. Some solid defending kept the Heather St John’s attack at bay with Alleynians having the odd moment in attack when it looked like they might extend their lead.
In the 80th minute, player-manager Luke Askey was spoken to by the referee after his desperate tackle stopped an attacker from getting away onto goal. By now the visitors were piling on the pressure, but Alleynians were coping well and the assured presence of Adam Alcock between the posts helped to keep things calm for the Old Boys.
With two minutes to go, home striker Jack Tomlinson appeared to be on the end of a very harsh challenge. The referee thought otherwise and indicated for play to carry on. Heather St John’s took full advantage and while Alleynians appealed and hesitated, James Spruce, the scorer of the visitors’ first goal, strode forward to shoot from the edge of the penalty area, bringing the scores level at 2-2. Despite the protests of the home players, the referee maintained that his previous decision was correct.
Just as everyone was getting ready for penalties to decide who would go through to the next round, things went from bad to worse for Old Alleynians. A through ball by Heather St John’s found substitute Yahia Todd on the edge of the Alleynians box. He fired home past home keeper Alcock to make the score 3-2 to the visiting team. Within 20 seconds of the restart, the referee blew the final whistle causing wild celebrations for the visiting team and their supporters.
The next fixtures are a league match at Lichfield City on Wednesday and the Emirates FA Cup game at Leamington next Saturday.
Full time: Stone Old Alleynians 2-3 Heather St John’s
Stone OA: Adam Alcock, Oliver Davies, Joe Baxter, Luke Askey, Leon Ashman, Dave Ablewhite, Sam Wilson, Sam Bradbury, Matt Thomas, Jack Tomlinson, Ryan Goodwin Subs: Sam Bowater, Andrew Walklate, Aaron Fahey, Joe Heath, Sam Lockley
