FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round - New Mills 0 Harrogate Town 2
Sat 25th September 2010 | FA Competition News | By Ian Templeman
New Mills' hopes of progress in the FA Cup were ended at the hands of Blue Square Bet North side Harrogate Town at Church Lane on Saturday.
Against opponents from three divisions higher up the Non-League Pyramid, the Millers gave a good account of themselves, but were undone by an own goal and a controversial penalty inside the opening 35 minutes.
The visitors, who are three divisions and fifty odd places above The Millers in the non-league pyramid, threw their weight about in the early exchanges as they tried to contain the attacking threat caused by Dave Swarbrick's pace and trickery down the right wing.
However, the Yorkshiremen looked dangerous going forward and a spectacular overhead scissors kick from Liam Hardy's went narrowly wide just before they did take the lead in the eleventh minute.
Wayne Phillips's caught The Millers on the counter attack and his cross from the left hand side was heading towards the unmarked Hardy in the box before Mark Innes, trying desperately to prevent the ball from reaching its intended target, unfortunately could only turn the cross past his own goalkeeper Dominic Ingram-Hughes.
New Mills's goal then somehow escaped as a mad scramble took place virtually on the goal-line with shots raining in from all angles before the ball was eventually hacked clear. The home side were giving as good as they got though in the midfield areas and Carlos Meakin's deflected shot started a run of successive corners which were well defended by the strong and physical Harrogate defence.
The major talking point in the game occurred nine minutes before the interval when the visitors were awarded a penalty. Referee Mr Hutchinson deemed Micky Bowler's tackle on Liam Hardy to be an illegal one despite the New Mills full back appearing to win the ball cleanly. This was backed up by the official after the game who agreed that the defender had won the ball initially but had subsequently brought down the attacking player with his trailing leg. No matter what was said, the spot kick had been awarded and was duly dispatched by Graeme Armstrong with a minimum of fuss.
Armstrong was denied by an excellent save by Dominic Ingram-Hughes at the start of the second half, but The Millers really rolled up their sleeves and fought tooth and nail with their supposed superior opponents to try and get themselves back in the game. Adam Mather, who had an outstanding game at left back, hit the top of the crossbar and this was followed almost immediately by Luke Horrocks's shot flying just wide of Kieran Gonzalez's upright.
The home side were enjoying their best spell of the game at this point as they enjoyed the lion's share of territorial possession and Church Lane's biggest crowd this season would have witnessed a grandstand finish if the off balance Leon Grandison had not spurned probably their best chance of the game with twenty five minutes of the game remaining.
The ultimate difference between the two sides on the day was Harrogate having an extra half a yard of pace and that extra bit of strength you would expect their players to have with them playing at such a high standard of non-league football. Their defence showed their experience too as they successfully blocked substitute Josh Ford's late shot and then with keeper Gonzalez denying fellow replacement Adam Morning.
The crowd showed their appreciation to both sets of players at the conclusion of the game as it had been an excellent Cup tie. New Mills more than held their own against their higher ranked opponents and can be proud of their efforts in the competition this season which had seen them reach the previously uncharted territory of The Second Qualifying Round.
New Mills - Ingram-Hughes, Bowler, Mather, Innes, Swirad, Swarbrick ( Ford ), Meakin, Pickford, Grandison, Moore ( Douglas-Pringle ), Horrocks ( Morning )
Unused subs - Mellor ( GK ), Carey, Butt
Pictures from the game can be viewed here -
http://newmillsafc.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album119Â
New Mills manager Ally Pickering said: "I'm pleased with the way we played, but disappointed, as the 2-0 result looks as if they have come here and won comfortably and that wasn't the case.
"One or two decisions went against us, especially the penalty which I think killed us off. But I'm pleased with the way we passed the ball, and the way we played you would never have thought footballing wise there were three leagues between the teams.
"Football's all about opinions, the referee's given it (the penalty) and you have to get on with it. I've asked the players about it, and everyone said he (Mickey Bowler) took the ball, and he swears he got the ball.
"The referee told him that the reason he's given the penalty is because although he got the ball, his following leg brought the player down. I'm not getting bitter about it, at the end of the day they beat us 2-0 and good luck to them.
"Our final ball let us down a bit, and it's one of those situations where on another day it happens, but today it didn't. If the quality of the ball coming in isn't good enough, your strikers are going to struggle. But they worked hard, they just didn't get many opportunities."
Club Secretary Duncan Hibbert said: "Whilst there was obvious disappointment after the game, there was a lot of positivity about the team's performance. At no point in the ninety minutes did Harrogate dominate proceedings, and the players should take great heart from their performance.
"Ultimately the visitors were half a yard quicker and slightly stronger as you would expect from a team three divisions and fifty odd places higher.
"The big talking point was the award of a penalty ten minutes before the interval. From my vantage point from behind the opposite goal and without sounding like Arsene Wenger, I couldn't tell what had happened but people standing closer to the incident were adamant that Micky Bowler had won the ball fairly.
"The referee deemed otherwise and he explained to me after the game that he agreed that the ball had been won fairly, but he had penalised Micky for bringing down the attacker with his trailing leg. It seemed a strange interpretation of events but we move on and forget about it, and we wish Harrogate all the best for the next round.
"The FA Cup is now done and dusted for another season but we've some great memories of our adventure this year. Scoring ten against Alsager, beating Chadderton with ten men and an outfield player in goal for an hour, and then the thrilling replay against Curzon Ashton which had just about everything, red cards, penalties and a last minute winner.
"With our extended run in the FA Cup, we've fallen behind a little with our League fixtures so we can now concentrate on that for six weeks or so before we enter The League Challenge Cup and Vase in November. We've a tough run of fixtures starting with a game against St Helens on Tuesday but I'm sure the players will want to get Saturday's defeat out of their system as quickly as possible."
FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round - New Mills 0 Harrogate Town 2
Sat 25th September 2010 | FA Competition News
By Ian Templeman
New Mills' hopes of progress in the FA Cup were ended at the hands of Blue Square Bet North side Harrogate Town at Church Lane on Saturday.
Against opponents from three divisions higher up the Non-League Pyramid, the Millers gave a good account of themselves, but were undone by an own goal and a controversial penalty inside the opening 35 minutes.
The visitors, who are three divisions and fifty odd places above The Millers in the non-league pyramid, threw their weight about in the early exchanges as they tried to contain the attacking threat caused by Dave Swarbrick's pace and trickery down the right wing.
However, the Yorkshiremen looked dangerous going forward and a spectacular overhead scissors kick from Liam Hardy's went narrowly wide just before they did take the lead in the eleventh minute.
Wayne Phillips's caught The Millers on the counter attack and his cross from the left hand side was heading towards the unmarked Hardy in the box before Mark Innes, trying desperately to prevent the ball from reaching its intended target, unfortunately could only turn the cross past his own goalkeeper Dominic Ingram-Hughes.
New Mills's goal then somehow escaped as a mad scramble took place virtually on the goal-line with shots raining in from all angles before the ball was eventually hacked clear. The home side were giving as good as they got though in the midfield areas and Carlos Meakin's deflected shot started a run of successive corners which were well defended by the strong and physical Harrogate defence.
The major talking point in the game occurred nine minutes before the interval when the visitors were awarded a penalty. Referee Mr Hutchinson deemed Micky Bowler's tackle on Liam Hardy to be an illegal one despite the New Mills full back appearing to win the ball cleanly. This was backed up by the official after the game who agreed that the defender had won the ball initially but had subsequently brought down the attacking player with his trailing leg. No matter what was said, the spot kick had been awarded and was duly dispatched by Graeme Armstrong with a minimum of fuss.
Armstrong was denied by an excellent save by Dominic Ingram-Hughes at the start of the second half, but The Millers really rolled up their sleeves and fought tooth and nail with their supposed superior opponents to try and get themselves back in the game. Adam Mather, who had an outstanding game at left back, hit the top of the crossbar and this was followed almost immediately by Luke Horrocks's shot flying just wide of Kieran Gonzalez's upright.
The home side were enjoying their best spell of the game at this point as they enjoyed the lion's share of territorial possession and Church Lane's biggest crowd this season would have witnessed a grandstand finish if the off balance Leon Grandison had not spurned probably their best chance of the game with twenty five minutes of the game remaining.
The ultimate difference between the two sides on the day was Harrogate having an extra half a yard of pace and that extra bit of strength you would expect their players to have with them playing at such a high standard of non-league football. Their defence showed their experience too as they successfully blocked substitute Josh Ford's late shot and then with keeper Gonzalez denying fellow replacement Adam Morning.
The crowd showed their appreciation to both sets of players at the conclusion of the game as it had been an excellent Cup tie. New Mills more than held their own against their higher ranked opponents and can be proud of their efforts in the competition this season which had seen them reach the previously uncharted territory of The Second Qualifying Round.
New Mills - Ingram-Hughes, Bowler, Mather, Innes, Swirad, Swarbrick ( Ford ), Meakin, Pickford, Grandison, Moore ( Douglas-Pringle ), Horrocks ( Morning )
Unused subs - Mellor ( GK ), Carey, Butt
Pictures from the game can be viewed here -
http://newmillsafc.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album119Â
New Mills manager Ally Pickering said: "I'm pleased with the way we played, but disappointed, as the 2-0 result looks as if they have come here and won comfortably and that wasn't the case.
"One or two decisions went against us, especially the penalty which I think killed us off. But I'm pleased with the way we passed the ball, and the way we played you would never have thought footballing wise there were three leagues between the teams.
"Football's all about opinions, the referee's given it (the penalty) and you have to get on with it. I've asked the players about it, and everyone said he (Mickey Bowler) took the ball, and he swears he got the ball.
"The referee told him that the reason he's given the penalty is because although he got the ball, his following leg brought the player down. I'm not getting bitter about it, at the end of the day they beat us 2-0 and good luck to them.
"Our final ball let us down a bit, and it's one of those situations where on another day it happens, but today it didn't. If the quality of the ball coming in isn't good enough, your strikers are going to struggle. But they worked hard, they just didn't get many opportunities."
Club Secretary Duncan Hibbert said: "Whilst there was obvious disappointment after the game, there was a lot of positivity about the team's performance. At no point in the ninety minutes did Harrogate dominate proceedings, and the players should take great heart from their performance.
"Ultimately the visitors were half a yard quicker and slightly stronger as you would expect from a team three divisions and fifty odd places higher.
"The big talking point was the award of a penalty ten minutes before the interval. From my vantage point from behind the opposite goal and without sounding like Arsene Wenger, I couldn't tell what had happened but people standing closer to the incident were adamant that Micky Bowler had won the ball fairly.
"The referee deemed otherwise and he explained to me after the game that he agreed that the ball had been won fairly, but he had penalised Micky for bringing down the attacker with his trailing leg. It seemed a strange interpretation of events but we move on and forget about it, and we wish Harrogate all the best for the next round.
"The FA Cup is now done and dusted for another season but we've some great memories of our adventure this year. Scoring ten against Alsager, beating Chadderton with ten men and an outfield player in goal for an hour, and then the thrilling replay against Curzon Ashton which had just about everything, red cards, penalties and a last minute winner.
"With our extended run in the FA Cup, we've fallen behind a little with our League fixtures so we can now concentrate on that for six weeks or so before we enter The League Challenge Cup and Vase in November. We've a tough run of fixtures starting with a game against St Helens on Tuesday but I'm sure the players will want to get Saturday's defeat out of their system as quickly as possible."
