FA Vase Second Round - New Mills 2 Ashington 4
Sun 14th November 2010 | FA Competition News | By Ian Templeman
For the second successive season, The Northern League overcame The Vodkat League at Church Lane, as New Mills disappointingly exited the FA Vase following defeat against Ashington.
The pitch had stood up remarkably well to a week of fairly inclement weather and following a minutes silence for Remembrance Sunday, the hosts started the game brightly against their North East opponents. Leon Grandison and Carlos Meakin were only prevented by last ditch defending and goalkeeping respectively as The Millers strived for the early breakthrough.
However it was Ashington who had the significant goalscoring opportunities when almost identical efforts by Johnny Godsmark and leading scorer Steve Young were stopped by quick and alert goalkeeping by Dominic Ingram-Hughes.
The Millers custodian was not to be lucky for a third time though as Ashington broke quickly following a New Mills attack and following an incisive through ball, Godsmark was not to be denied again as he timed his run to beat New Mills's defensive line and subsequently slotted the ball past the advancing keeper.
After conceding the opening goal, it was important for the home side to hit back immediately and they did just that within three minutes. Mark Innes controlled the ball expertly well on the left hand side and played a great ball into Leon Grandision, The striker never broke his stride as he beat a poorly positioned Karl Dryden at his near post to put The Millers back on level terms.
The home side continued to press up to the interval and were rewarded for their endeavours in first half stoppage time when they took the lead. Adam Mather's deep corner found centre half Tony Barras at the back post who intelligently headed the ball back across goal to where Carlos Meakin was on hand to tuck the ball home from close range. Despite this late goal, there was still time for Leon Grandison, who had an exceptional opening forty five minutes, to spurn a great opportunity to further increase the lead but he shot over the crossbar when well placed.
Tony Barras continued his attempts for his first New Mills goal after the break but Karl Dryden reacted well to his header following another set piece. Although as the second half progressed, Ashington started to push The Millers back a little, there was no noticeable goal threat.
However with twelve minutes remaining, Ashington's Gary Middleton made a substitution managers can only dream of as Phil Bell scored from close range with literally his first touch of the game to bring the scores level.
Within four minutes of the leveller, an extremely contentious refereeing decision bewildered New Mills and their supporters. Adam Mather was tripped in full flow by Ashington full back Alex Houlsby and from the divot clearly created by the mis-timed tackle on the soft playing surface, the offence took place well within the penalty area and Mr Wood should have pointed to the spot.
Despite the fairly conclusive evidence in front of him, the official decreed that the foul had taken place outside the box and the resulting free kick was cleared from danger.
This decision came back to haunt the home side and Ashington regained the lead with four minutes of the game left. Dominic Ingram-Hughes didn't deserve to be beaten after he made a truly outstanding point blank save but The Millers defensive unit ultimately failed to clear the loose ball and left back Darren Lough was on hand to score from a narrow angle.
Even then, the home defenders were up in arms as they thought that the goalscorer after leaving the field of play, had illegally re-entered the fray to prevent the ball from crossing the dead ball line and should have been flagged as being offside by the assistant referee. Once again the crucial decision went against New Mills and to rub salt into the wounds Mike Bowler was then shown a straight red card for his vocal protestations.
With time running down, The Millers threw caution to the wind in order to grab the equaliser that would take the game into extra time but it was Ashington who had the last laugh as they counter attacked effectively and it was substitute Phil Bell who ran sixty yards with the ball before calmly rounding Dominic Ingram-Hughes to seal New Mills's fate.
New Mills Secretary Duncan Hibbert shared his thoughts on the game afterwards.
"They say football is a great leveller and after the highs of this season's exploits in the FA Cup, we've gone to the lows of the FA Vase and an exit in our first game in this year's competition. There was not too much to choose between the two sides on the day and there was no question that both attacking units caused problems for the respective defences, especially our back four who didn't perform to the high standards they have set so far this season.
"Maybe the visitors had that little bit of luck that you need on the day, as just after Ashington had equalised to make it 2-2, we felt that we were on the wrong end of a poor decision by the referee. There was no question that Adam Mather was felled in the box, and from the marks created on the pitch from the tackle, the evidence was fairly clear cut that the offence had taken place in the area.
"The referee thought otherwise and awarded a free kick on the edge of the box, at a spot where neither player had fallen even after they had both gone to ground. Who knows what would have happened if the spot kick had been awarded, but with only eight minutes remaining at this point, a 3-2 lead could have been potentially match winning.
"What disappointed me personally was that the referee elected to leave the ground almost immediately at the conclusion of the game, and therefore I could not ask him about this and the decision to allow Ashington's third goal.
"New Mills Football Club are great believers in the Respect campaign but in my opinion, it needs to be a two way process and the match officials need to be more open and accessible after the game, when important decisions can be discussed and explained in a professional and sensible manner.
"Anyway, we send our congratulations and best wishes to Ashington for further progress in the competition. They travelled in fair numbers yesterday and created a decent atmosphere with their drums, singing and the dreaded vuvuzuelas!
"We need to dust ourselves down and bounce back in the only proper way as we have a Derbyshire Cup fixture on Monday evening and tough upcoming Premier Division fixtures against Congleton, Rammy and Barnoldswick."
Photos from the game can be viewed here -
http://newmillsafc.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album125
FA Vase Second Round - New Mills 2 Ashington 4
Sun 14th November 2010 | FA Competition News
By Ian Templeman
For the second successive season, The Northern League overcame The Vodkat League at Church Lane, as New Mills disappointingly exited the FA Vase following defeat against Ashington.
The pitch had stood up remarkably well to a week of fairly inclement weather and following a minutes silence for Remembrance Sunday, the hosts started the game brightly against their North East opponents. Leon Grandison and Carlos Meakin were only prevented by last ditch defending and goalkeeping respectively as The Millers strived for the early breakthrough.
However it was Ashington who had the significant goalscoring opportunities when almost identical efforts by Johnny Godsmark and leading scorer Steve Young were stopped by quick and alert goalkeeping by Dominic Ingram-Hughes.
The Millers custodian was not to be lucky for a third time though as Ashington broke quickly following a New Mills attack and following an incisive through ball, Godsmark was not to be denied again as he timed his run to beat New Mills's defensive line and subsequently slotted the ball past the advancing keeper.
After conceding the opening goal, it was important for the home side to hit back immediately and they did just that within three minutes. Mark Innes controlled the ball expertly well on the left hand side and played a great ball into Leon Grandision, The striker never broke his stride as he beat a poorly positioned Karl Dryden at his near post to put The Millers back on level terms.
The home side continued to press up to the interval and were rewarded for their endeavours in first half stoppage time when they took the lead. Adam Mather's deep corner found centre half Tony Barras at the back post who intelligently headed the ball back across goal to where Carlos Meakin was on hand to tuck the ball home from close range. Despite this late goal, there was still time for Leon Grandison, who had an exceptional opening forty five minutes, to spurn a great opportunity to further increase the lead but he shot over the crossbar when well placed.
Tony Barras continued his attempts for his first New Mills goal after the break but Karl Dryden reacted well to his header following another set piece. Although as the second half progressed, Ashington started to push The Millers back a little, there was no noticeable goal threat.
However with twelve minutes remaining, Ashington's Gary Middleton made a substitution managers can only dream of as Phil Bell scored from close range with literally his first touch of the game to bring the scores level.
Within four minutes of the leveller, an extremely contentious refereeing decision bewildered New Mills and their supporters. Adam Mather was tripped in full flow by Ashington full back Alex Houlsby and from the divot clearly created by the mis-timed tackle on the soft playing surface, the offence took place well within the penalty area and Mr Wood should have pointed to the spot.
Despite the fairly conclusive evidence in front of him, the official decreed that the foul had taken place outside the box and the resulting free kick was cleared from danger.
This decision came back to haunt the home side and Ashington regained the lead with four minutes of the game left. Dominic Ingram-Hughes didn't deserve to be beaten after he made a truly outstanding point blank save but The Millers defensive unit ultimately failed to clear the loose ball and left back Darren Lough was on hand to score from a narrow angle.
Even then, the home defenders were up in arms as they thought that the goalscorer after leaving the field of play, had illegally re-entered the fray to prevent the ball from crossing the dead ball line and should have been flagged as being offside by the assistant referee. Once again the crucial decision went against New Mills and to rub salt into the wounds Mike Bowler was then shown a straight red card for his vocal protestations.
With time running down, The Millers threw caution to the wind in order to grab the equaliser that would take the game into extra time but it was Ashington who had the last laugh as they counter attacked effectively and it was substitute Phil Bell who ran sixty yards with the ball before calmly rounding Dominic Ingram-Hughes to seal New Mills's fate.
New Mills Secretary Duncan Hibbert shared his thoughts on the game afterwards.
"They say football is a great leveller and after the highs of this season's exploits in the FA Cup, we've gone to the lows of the FA Vase and an exit in our first game in this year's competition. There was not too much to choose between the two sides on the day and there was no question that both attacking units caused problems for the respective defences, especially our back four who didn't perform to the high standards they have set so far this season.
"Maybe the visitors had that little bit of luck that you need on the day, as just after Ashington had equalised to make it 2-2, we felt that we were on the wrong end of a poor decision by the referee. There was no question that Adam Mather was felled in the box, and from the marks created on the pitch from the tackle, the evidence was fairly clear cut that the offence had taken place in the area.
"The referee thought otherwise and awarded a free kick on the edge of the box, at a spot where neither player had fallen even after they had both gone to ground. Who knows what would have happened if the spot kick had been awarded, but with only eight minutes remaining at this point, a 3-2 lead could have been potentially match winning.
"What disappointed me personally was that the referee elected to leave the ground almost immediately at the conclusion of the game, and therefore I could not ask him about this and the decision to allow Ashington's third goal.
"New Mills Football Club are great believers in the Respect campaign but in my opinion, it needs to be a two way process and the match officials need to be more open and accessible after the game, when important decisions can be discussed and explained in a professional and sensible manner.
"Anyway, we send our congratulations and best wishes to Ashington for further progress in the competition. They travelled in fair numbers yesterday and created a decent atmosphere with their drums, singing and the dreaded vuvuzuelas!
"We need to dust ourselves down and bounce back in the only proper way as we have a Derbyshire Cup fixture on Monday evening and tough upcoming Premier Division fixtures against Congleton, Rammy and Barnoldswick."
Photos from the game can be viewed here -
http://newmillsafc.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album125
