Wealdstone 1 – 1 Bishop’s Stortford
Wealdstone
1R1 - 1
Bishop's StortfordHonours even
After a 7- 1 drubbing only two weeks ago away to Stortford in the League and with a number of players missing through injury Wealdstone were not expected to do a great deal in this match, but this is football.
A bright start saw Marvin Morgan and Tunji Bamgbola causing problems for the back pedaling Stortford defence and a lively Stones midfield stifled anything Stortford had to offer in the early stages.
Stones took the lead on seven minutes when Bamgbola beat his man and fed Marvin Morgan, his first tough beat the defender and he ran on to the edge of the six yard box where his second touch was a pass inside to Danny Tilbury who beat the keeper from 6 yards.
Stones forced Stortford back for long periods in the half and may have extended their lead when Tilbury, Morgan and Bamgbola all saw half chances either saved or cleared, but the game changed on 37 minutes when an injury forced Morgan off – Stones had lost a little of the unpredictability that he brings to a game, and much of the match became a midfield battle. Stortford’s best chance was when a long ball beat Tucker and Trevor Paul ran on to shoot, hitting the post but it was there only clear cut chance of the half.
The second half saw Stortford press Stones back into defence but the pressure was coped with well by the Stones backline, Matt Perry in particular playing a calm and controlled game from right back, and with the help of the midfield, Stones again limited their opponents to half chances, while breaking through Bamgbola early on and later Pither and Somers, they too had opportunities to extend their lead.
It wasn’t to be however as on 85 minutes, Stortford won a corner, the cross beat Carter who some thought had been fouled and the unlucky Shaw could only help the ball into the Stones net for the visitors’ equaliser.
The final score was 1 – 1 and the replay on Tuesday will be a test on a better pitch, Stones hoping to exorcise the memory of their recent League performance their.
Wealdstone: Andy Carter, Matt Perry, Fergus Moore, Robin Tucker, Billy Amarteifio (b75), Paul Lamb, John Deadman, Jason Shaw (og85), Tunji Bamgbola (s67 Ricky Pither), Marvin Morgan (s37 Vinny Somers), Danny Tilbury (7), Subs not used: Robert Connelley, Carl Hunt, Nathan Cobb.
Watford Observer?
Wealdstone 1 – 1 Bishop’s Stortford
AFTER recently demolishing Wealdstone 7-1 in the league, perhaps the Blues though, this would be a similarly one-sided contest, but how wrong they were. Either Wealdstone brought them down to their level, or the Blues just did not perform.
Whatever reason they choose, Stortford should be grateful to have a second attempt at securing a home tie with Grays Athletic in the next round.
Wealdstone started the brightest of the two sides and took the lead as early as the sixth minute when sloppy defending by Stortford let in Danny Tilbury who gave the Stones faithful an early cheer by rifling home.
Stortford continued to have a lot of possession but whenever Wealdstone got the ball, their lively forward Marvin Morgan was a handful.
Unfortunately for the Stones, Morgan had to be substituted after picking up an injury with ten minutes to go before half-time.
Stortford got desperate and with the minutes ticking away they took the gamble of replacing Joel Marie-Sainte with Mark Risley, who went straight up front to form a three pronged attack along with Hayes and Paul.
It was Risley’s presence that led to the Blues’ equaliser with just four minutes remaining. A corner was flung into the box and with Risley making a nuisance of himself the ball hit Jason Shaw’s knee and crept over the line.
There was still time for Wealdstone to create problems at the other end with the ball flying dangerously around the Stortford penalty box, but in the end a 1-1 draw was a fair result and the Blues will look to complete the job in the replay on Tuesday evening (yesterday)