Barry Sport
Sully Sports make it through to semi-finals of FAW Trophy!
8:10am Thursday 16th February 2012
SULLY SPORTS 5 ABERCARN UNITED 2
Report published by permission of Welsh Football magazine - www.welsh-football.net
IT was FAW Trophy quarter final day last Saturday – and my chosen match had been clear for ages.
Despite a week of freezing weather I'd been consoling (deluding?) myself that there was no risk of a second consecutive blank weekend; after all, it's not going to be as cold overnight; it's going to be sunny on Saturday; Sully never have a postponement, it's by the sea, so it won't freeze… So when Saturday dawned, white and frozen pretty solid, and postponements start appearing, seeds of doubt were sown.
I established that Sully's pitch had been frostbound, but there were hopes it would thaw. And a nervous hour or two were ended when the match was declared on at 11.30am – one of a handful of matches in south Wales to survive.
A crowd of around 70 or 80 assembled for the match, the Sully faithful on the near side, the visitors heading for the far side. A tannoy had again been set up, there were ball boys in place behind the village end goal, and this time there were even a couple of video cameras and a refreshment van.
At 2pm the match was under way, a typically tense and tentative opening to a big match in a national cup. Sully Sports had a couple of early chances – both missed and both (controversially) called offside.
Then Abercarn burst into life, some snapshots at long range causing a bit of panic in the normally assured Sully defence. One of these shots hit the bar and bounced down – but just out – and was scrambled away.
The first half settled into a pattern – two evenly matched sides exhibiting a mixture of over-enthusiasm and fear of mistakes. The upshot was an absorbing battle with chances at both ends, but no flowing football.
We seemed to be heading for a goalless interval score, which I felt exactly reflected the game.
And then, in the final minute of the half, a goal from nothing: Abercarn failed to clear their lines completely and the ball broke to Nigel Underdown, who sent a superb volley high into the top right corner of keeper Ryan Blackmore's net.
The teams stayed on the pitch at half time, so the interval was brief. As in the first half, Sully were quicker out of the blocks and Blackmore was busy blocking a couple of good early chances.
Just when his defence seemed to have survived the early pressure, they went 2-0 down: a through ball found Anthony Ferguson in space (arguably offside, though you'd need to be bang in line to tell). He swivelled and fired crisply past Blackmore.
The comfort of a two goal lead allowed Sully to play a more settled, expansive game and they began to look dominant now. So it isn't surprising when Gareth Hemmens made it 3-0, finishing a low cross from the right with a close-range finish at the far post in the 62nd minute.
Abercarn were now staring defeat in the face and rallying cries of "playing for pride" were heard as they prepared to restart.
But three minutes later the mood changed when Kurt Thornbury nicked a goal back after a parried shot: now it's "get another one and we'll see what happens"… For several minutes that flickering of belief in the visitors' ranks revived the contest – but it was cruelly extinguished just two minutes later when Sully's Alex Long fires a low cross in from the right again and Jake Davies can't avoid smashing it into his own net.
4-1 now and no quick response this time and no hint of a way back for Abercarn. Sports threatened to add to the lead, but as it was a cup tie, at this stage further drama was unlikely – just a question of running the clock down?
Abercarn were in damage limitation mode and doing okay, when suddenly in the 79th minute it all went horribly wrong again.
A goalmouth melee ended with keeper Blackmore diving and gathering the ball, but his momentum caused him to fall over the line.
The assistant referee flags to indicate the ball is in and the goal is awarded. Unusual, yes, but from my position right behind the goal, I think it's correct as no Sully player forced the keeper over the line.
Blackmore disputed the award, but in doing so he earned a red card. A more experienced official might have exercised discretion, but Blackmore walked for his reaction, no doubt incurring a ban that will hit Abercarn's battle against relegation.
The Gwent League visitors now faced the final 10 minutes with no hope of progress, playing with 10 men and a substitute keeper who announced to those in earshot that he hadn't played in goal for years.
He also had to watch as his team won a penalty at the other end – frustrating as he'd normally have taken it!
They scored to make it 5-2, and the defence held out for the remaining minutes to avoid further punishment.
Another excellent cup tie at Sully, on a superb surface given the weather conditions. A deserved win for the home side – and other results means they are the only south Wales survivor to the last four, and must now face the might of the Welsh Alliance.
Back to league action for Sully this week, when the tough Grange Albion are the visitors to Swanbridge, kick off 2pm; players to report at 12.15pm.
SEMI-FINAL DRAW
SULLY Sports have been drawn against Welsh Alliance team Pwllheli in the semi-final of the FAW Trophy, with Llanrwst FC and Holyhead Hotspur meeting in the other match.
The games will be played at neutral venues over the weekend of March 3-4, and the FAW hopes to announce these venues by the end of this week.
The four semi-finalists are guaranteed £1,500 from the FAW.