Emirates FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round - 1874 Northwich 2 Ossett Town 2
Sat 30th September 2017 | FA Challenge Cup | By Ian Templeman
A last gasp equaliser from Adam Whitlock earned 1874 Northwich a replay in their Emirates FA Cup tie against Evo-Stik League side Ossett Town.
It was the second time in the game that the Greens had pegged back their opponents, although when Ossett went 2-1 up in the 90th minute, it looked all over for the home side.
But Whitlock's winner earned 1874 a second chance, and they now travel to West Yorkshire on Tuesday evening to try once again to book a place in the Fourth Qualifying Round.
The afternoon didn't start well for 1874, falling behind in the fourth minute when visiting captain Alex Peterson put the visitors ahead from close range and as the half wore on, it began to look a bit ominous for the Greens as the Evo-Sitk side had the better of the exchanges, looked comfortable on the ball and were creating chances with a high tempo game that 1874 struggled to cope with at times.
However, as the hour mark approached and the playing conditions got worse in torrential rain, 1874 got a foothold back in the match when Paul Connor's cross was met by with a header from Mark Jones to level the scores.
But it looked like the visitors had booked their place in the next round when they took the lead again in the final minute of regulation time, with skipper Peterson once again on target with a fine finish from Kai Hancock's cross.
Straight from the restart, 1874's Adam Whitlock sent the home crowd into rapturous celebrations with a cool finish to earn his side a replay.
Afterwards, 1874 Northwich joint-manager Wayne Goodison paid tribute to the fighting qualities of his squad.
"The players just don't want to go out of this competition. It was a good cup tie, and to be honest I think a draw was the least we deserved.
"We know we have lads who are not going to give up and keep working hard, and that's how it panned out. We deserved to get something from the game.
"The first goal was a poor one to lose from our point of view, with no disrespect to them. It was a simple ball in that bounced off the back of somebody and it bounced in the kid's path and he finished quite well, to be fair.
"At half time we were talking about winning the game, we were only one down, it's not as if we were two or three down, and they didn't look like they would cut us apart or put us under a lot of pressure.
"We said we needed to do better with the ball, which everyone agreed with, and if we did we'd be OK, and in the second half we were much better in possession.
"We passed it better, and when we got the equaliser we pushed on and put them under pressure on a regular basis.
"I've coached in the Evo-Stik League quite a lot, and I have said for a while that there's not a big difference in quality between the two divisions, and I think that was borne out today.
"On Tuesday it's a 50-50 game. but they should be the favourites to go through, although we've got to go there and be a little bit better with the ball.
"People here are so excited, and enjoying it so much. It's great for the club to at least have stayed in the competition and have that bit of excitement with the draw on Monday".
Emirates FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round - 1874 Northwich 2 Ossett Town 2
Sat 30th September 2017 | FA Challenge Cup
By Ian Templeman
A last gasp equaliser from Adam Whitlock earned 1874 Northwich a replay in their Emirates FA Cup tie against Evo-Stik League side Ossett Town.
It was the second time in the game that the Greens had pegged back their opponents, although when Ossett went 2-1 up in the 90th minute, it looked all over for the home side.
But Whitlock's winner earned 1874 a second chance, and they now travel to West Yorkshire on Tuesday evening to try once again to book a place in the Fourth Qualifying Round.
The afternoon didn't start well for 1874, falling behind in the fourth minute when visiting captain Alex Peterson put the visitors ahead from close range and as the half wore on, it began to look a bit ominous for the Greens as the Evo-Sitk side had the better of the exchanges, looked comfortable on the ball and were creating chances with a high tempo game that 1874 struggled to cope with at times.
However, as the hour mark approached and the playing conditions got worse in torrential rain, 1874 got a foothold back in the match when Paul Connor's cross was met by with a header from Mark Jones to level the scores.
But it looked like the visitors had booked their place in the next round when they took the lead again in the final minute of regulation time, with skipper Peterson once again on target with a fine finish from Kai Hancock's cross.
Straight from the restart, 1874's Adam Whitlock sent the home crowd into rapturous celebrations with a cool finish to earn his side a replay.
Afterwards, 1874 Northwich joint-manager Wayne Goodison paid tribute to the fighting qualities of his squad.
"The players just don't want to go out of this competition. It was a good cup tie, and to be honest I think a draw was the least we deserved.
"We know we have lads who are not going to give up and keep working hard, and that's how it panned out. We deserved to get something from the game.
"The first goal was a poor one to lose from our point of view, with no disrespect to them. It was a simple ball in that bounced off the back of somebody and it bounced in the kid's path and he finished quite well, to be fair.
"At half time we were talking about winning the game, we were only one down, it's not as if we were two or three down, and they didn't look like they would cut us apart or put us under a lot of pressure.
"We said we needed to do better with the ball, which everyone agreed with, and if we did we'd be OK, and in the second half we were much better in possession.
"We passed it better, and when we got the equaliser we pushed on and put them under pressure on a regular basis.
"I've coached in the Evo-Stik League quite a lot, and I have said for a while that there's not a big difference in quality between the two divisions, and I think that was borne out today.
"On Tuesday it's a 50-50 game. but they should be the favourites to go through, although we've got to go there and be a little bit better with the ball.
"People here are so excited, and enjoying it so much. It's great for the club to at least have stayed in the competition and have that bit of excitement with the draw on Monday".
