FA Carlsberg Vase Second Qualifying Round
At: War Memorial Athletic Ground
Kick-off: 3-00 pm
Admission: £5; Programme: £1-25 (28 pages)
Attendance: 108
Weather: warm and sunny
Duration: first-half: 47:21; second-half: 47:22
I’d better not get used to this … football on two consecutive Sunday afternoons!
There were a few games to choose from today and I opted for the all Midland Alliance Vase tie between Causeway United and Coventry Sphinx. And, spotting the Stafford Rangers team coach travelling south on the M1 yesterday evening provided a coincidental link into this game as my old friends from the Blue Square North visit Sphinx in the FA Cup on Saturday.
I’d not previously seen a Causeway home game and they currently share with Stourbridge FC. It was about 18 years ago when I last visited the War Memorial Athletic Ground, for an FA Cup tie with Long Buckby played on a sunny Sunday afternoon in September 1991. My earlier and only other visit was on a dark March evening in 1987 for a Staffs Senior Cup replay.
One concern I had en-route was the journey through Wolverhampton with Wolves entertaining Fulham at 2 pm. Apart from a lot of parked cars, I was surprised how quiet it was approaching Molineux 10 minutes before kick-off, even on Waterloo Road which runs alongside the main Billy Wright Stand. Close to the ground and in sight of the Stan Cullis Stand and Goal Post pub, things really started to buzz though I was amazed that, apart from the odd fan, no one seemed to be hurrying to get into the ground before kick-off. I was stationary in traffic by the Billy Wright statue when I heard a great roar and fanfare, presumably, as the teams came out. Still the fans didn’t seem to hurry.
Twenty minutes later, I was travelling south down the A491 from the A449 at Wall Heath towards Stourbridge, listening to the Manchester derby on the radio and hearing that Kevin Doyle had put Wolves in front. The entrance to the ‘WMAC’, in the Amblecote district of the town, was on the right through the arch, just before the lights by The Royal Oak pub. A car park on the other side of the arch provided a first option to leave the car but I made my way through the second set of gates and parked by the cricket pavilion.
Programmes were on sale at the table by the clubhouse and teams were both displayed at the PA box window and announced over the tannoy. There were quite a few other travellers milling around as well. From a personal point of view, there were two ‘debuts’ – the hat bought for me at Brodsworth Hall yesterday and also a new notebook.
The ground itself (orientated roughly east–west) occupies one side of Stourbridge Cricket Club’s pitch and spectators only have access to three sides. Behind the near goal was the clubhouse and changing rooms, and also a couple of terrace steps next to the pitch barrier. Down the far touchline stood an interesting stand which comprised three distinct adjacent sections. The two outside sections were covered terrace with a middle section housing seven rows of red-painted benches either side of the directors/officials box. Behind the far goal was a large cavernous covered stand, the ‘Shed End’, with no fewer than ten wide terrace steps.
Causeway (2nd position behind leaders Barwell with 18 points from seven games) had made a great start to their 2009/10 Midland Alliance campaign, despite playing all but one league game away from home. Ironically, the only points they’ve dropped were in a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Westfields. Coventry Sphinx (18th position with six points from six games) were in a lowly false league position and had three games in hand on the four teams immediately above them in the table.
In the FA Carlsberg Vase First Qualifying Round played two weeks ago, Causeway won 2-0 at home to Ellesmere while Coventry Sphinx won by the same scoreline at Ashby Ivanhoe.
I didn’t expect anything else as the teams came out in fair-play fashion before lining up on the pitch in front of the benched section of the stand.
Causeway (wearing all blue) got the game underway attacking the Shed End in the first half. I opted for a position sat in the stand so, in other words, the home side were playing from right to left.
It was visitors Coventry Sphinx (wearing a change kit of all red) who created the early chances. Kelvin Phillips volleyed over from the edge of the area and, from a free-kick delivered into the area by Aaron Donaldson, Terry Ward saw a far-post header held by Causeway keeper Joel Skeldon.
I tried a couple of viewing positions and settled on a front row place on row A, position 5, in the section in the half defended by Causeway and nearest the visitors’ dugout.
Causeway took an early lead in the 13th minute. Sam Beasley’s right-wing corner wasn’t cleared and leading scorer Matt Gardner fired home inside a crowded area at close range.
Raffle tickets came round and my lucky strip was orange 81–85.
Midway through the half, Causeway had a good shout for a penalty. Ben Stretton chipped the advancing keeper and went down, in a manner that wasn’t clear to me, and the referee waived play on. I really didn’t know where it was a good decision or not though the attacker wasn’t deemed guilty or accused of diving.
The referee was more receptive to the home side in the 27th minute when Stretton was brought down by Ward just outside the Sphinx area. Gardner stepped up to curl the resulting free-kick over the six-man wall and between the bar and the outstretched left hand of leaping keeper Carl O’Neill.
The game was all but over as a contest two minutes later when Gardner completed his hat-trick. Fed by Stretton, the striker wrong footed a defender on the edge of the area before firing low into the bottom left corner of the net.
Gardner was proving too hot to handle and almost scored a fourth goal in the 31st minute. Stretton combined with Carl Hind out on the right and delivered a deep cross. The unchallenged striker stretched to get his head to the cross and sent the ball across goal just wide of the far post.
Causeway’s Beasley was lucky to escape with just a talking to for a foul on Craig Goodbody before Sphinx suffered another blow in the 37th minute. Kyle Rhodes suffered a nasty cut to his forehead (which neither the referee, the closest assistant or my good self spotted) that put midfielder out of the game.
There was almost another goal for the home side after Rhodes went off. Chris Field flicked the ball past the advancing O’Neill and headed towards and unguarded net. But Liam Kay got back to head clear at the expense of a corner.
Before the corner was taken, the unfortunate Rhodes failed to reappear and was replaced, in the 41st minute, by Jamie McAteer.
The referee finally produced a card in first half stoppage time (45+1) when Goodbody was booked for a foul on Beasley.
Half-time came with Causeway holding a comfortable lead. I agreed with an assessment I overheard that Sphinx started well but heads dropped as soon as they went behind.
The referee drew the winning raffle ticket before going in to the changing rooms – green 381-385 so not luck again.
I checked the identity of the first goalscorer with a fellow traveller before popping in to the clubhouse for the usual tea and chips from the hatch I returned to the stand and opted for position 14 on row A, close to where I’d been in the first half.
Sphinx were back out on the field barely ten minutes after the first half had ended. They waited for the home side to emerge before having a motivating team huddle. The visitors, now attacking the far end, needed a good start to the second half and started to put Causeway under pressure. They were awarded a free-kick just outside the area. Goodbody took a very long run up and fired low past both the three-man wall and left-hand post.
With the visitors very much in the ascendency, the Sphinx manager made a second change in the 58th minute. Goodbody went off and on came the more attacking Joshua Ruff. “Sphinx, better stuff,” was soon the verdict from the sidelines but the visitors still had a three-goal deficit and little over half an hour to close it.
Way over in the distance, there must have been a function at the cricket pavilion as smartly dressed individuals started to gather on the steps in front of the ornate building.
Sphinx kept up the attack as the overlapping Tommy Muldoon picked up the ball out on the right. He sent a low ball across the face of goal but unmarked Aaron Donaldson couldn’t quite apply the finishing touch.
Hat-trick hero Gardner was replaced in the 69th minute with Duncan Willetts and four minutes later Mark Jones chopped down Ruff to unsurprisingly pick up a booking. Causeway made their second substitution in the 75th minute, replacing Aaron Drakeley with Steve Poole, and a third on in the 79th minute, replacing Hind with Stuart How.
For most of the second half the ball seemed to be rarely out of the Causeway half, though the home defence made sure Sphinx couldn’t turn their possession into a goal. The visitors’ challenge started to peter out in the last 10 minutes. David Plinston dribbled into the Sphinx area and saw his shot well blocked by the advancing O’Neill.
It wasn’t long before Causeway wrapped up the scoring with a spectacular 87th minute strike. Substitute Duncan Willetts hit a rising 30-yard right-foot drive which gave O’Neill no chance of keeping out.
Before the referee brought the tie to a close, Willett miss-kicked in front of goal following food work by Mark Jones and Stretton and, in the 90th minute, Sphinx’s James Holmes was booked for dissent.
Causeway, who pocketed £900 prize money for the win, will have to wait to find out who they’ll visit in the First Round until the Loughborough University and Dudley Town replay on Tuesday.
Before setting off home, I enquired about Stourbridge and Causeway United pin badges and bought one representing the former at £3.
Causeway United (blue/blue/blue): 1. Joel Skeldon, 2. Mark Jones, 3. Sam Beasley, 4. Dan Cox, 5. Matt Aston, 6. Chris Field (capt), 7. Matt Gardner, 8. Ben Stretton, 9. David Plinston, 10. Aaron Drakeley, 11. Carl Hind. Subs: 12. Darren Whitley, 14. Steve Poole (for Drakeley, 75), 15. Danny Jones, 16. Stuart How (Hind, 79), 17. Duncan Willetts (for Gardner, 69).
Coventry Sphinx (red/red/red): 1. Carl O’Neill, 2. Craig Goodbody, 3. James Holmes, 4. Kyle Rhodes, 5. Terry Ward (capt), 6. Liam Kay, 7. Aaron Donaldson, 8. Gary Mead, 9. Kelvin Phillips, 10. Jerome Murdock, 11. Tom Muldoon. Subs: 12. Joshua Ruff (for Goodbody, 58), 14. Jamie McAteer (for Rhodes, 41), 15. Chris Daffern.
Referee: R. Hathaway (Tamworth).
Assistants: I. Gillespie (Sutton Coldfield) and N. Underwood (Erdington).
Goals:
1-0 Matt Gardner (13)
2-0 Matt Gardner (27)
3-0 Matt Gardner (29)
4-0 Duncan Willetts (87)
