FA Vase Second Round - Winterton Rangers 0 St Helens Town 2
Sun 14th November 2010 | FA Competition News | By Ian Templeman
St Helens Town advanced to the third round of the FA Vase for the first time since 2004 with a fantastic performance at both ends of the park against a well drilled Winterton Rangers side.
The visitors settled into the excellent surroundings at West Street well and after an initial period with the two sides feeling each other out St Helens started to create chances.
After 11 minutes of the contest Liam Pearson spotted an opening with home stopper Jack Ward off his line and attempted a lob from 25 yards out. The goalkeeper, however, recovered well to spare his blushes.
Moments later Pearson was again in the action as he was released by Marc Stephens on the left hand edge of the area his curled effort however was held by Ward.
The pressure was starting to tell as Pearson turned his marker on the left wing, looked to find Stephens on the penalty spot, but was thwarted by a well time interception from Danny Smith.
However, the deadlock was broken on 20 minutes when Mike Fargher caught Smith in possession and advanced before centring towards hotshot Pearson, who made no mistake in applying a great finish to give Town a deserved lead.
Winterton reacted well to going behind as they went on the offensive. Darren Fell collected a through ball and got into a dangerous position but his shot was blocked by a fine slide by Luke Faulkner. At the other end Iain Dyson collected a through ball and cut it back towards Pearson in a central position, but good defending by Craig Robinson saw the attack thwarted.
With the half hour mark approaching a half clearance fell to NCEL top scorer Liam Wilkin on the edge of the box, and he chested the ball down before volleying over the bar. Wilkin looked lively and but for another fine piece of defending by Faulkner he could have levelled matters.
A series of right wing corners from the hosts caused some problems in the Town box with the final set piece seeing a melee ensue with the ball somehow ending up just wide of the right hand post. The lead could have been doubled on 40 minutes as Dyson took advantage of a mistake by Smith to bear down on goal but a poor touch saw Ward seize the opportunity to claim the loose ball.
The second half saw the hosts start fast, creating two good chances in the opening three minutes of the half. Danny Barlow won the ball on the left wing and advanced goalwards before unleashing an effort that Dale Newbrook got down well to block. The rebound fell to Robinson and he could not keep his effort down firing over the bar.
Moments later Liam Slack intercepted a Town pass and his effort from the edge of the box was pushed around the post by Newbrook.
Town then had a great chance to net as Ward made a mess of what looked like a routine clearance just outside the area, and Pearson collected the ball, rounded a defender who drove him wide, before lofting an effort that beat the recovering stopper but struck the top of the crossbar and went behind.
Shortly afterwards Newbrook was again responsible for preserving the visitors lead, when he got down well to hold a free kick from Fell on the right hand edge of the box.
Pearson was still causing the hosts problems and this was the case on the hour when he beat his marker and unleashed an effort that took a deflection on its way towards goal. Ward adjusted his feet well to get a hand to the effort and push it off target, evading the onrushing Dyson.
Barlow was in the action again for the hosts when he tried his luck from 20 yards but again Newbrook was on hand to display his fine reflexes, tipping the effort over the bar. With twenty minutes to play Newbrook tipped a shot from James O'Neill over the bar before getting a slice of luck as he was beaten by a header from Rob Sanderson which struck the crossbar and broke to Slack who fired over the bar.
Possibly the best save of an excellent afternoon between the posts for Newbrook came on 73 minutes, when Barlow struck a free kick from the edge of the box which took a wicked deflection and the Town stopper changed direction to block the effort and the loose ball was cleared from danger.
The game was becoming stretched now as Winterton threw more and more men forward in an attempt to level. Pearson linked with Stephens who took advantage of the space he had to curl an effort past Ward, but just wide of the right hand upright. Pearson then linked with Dyson and the latter's effort was diverted away for a corner. A counter attack with ten minutes to play saw Pearson beat his marker on the edge of the area and his effort was deflected and Ward pushed it wide.
An inspired substitution from Town boss Lee Riley saw Town net a second. A right wing corner was sent to the front post by Stephens and this was cleared to the edge of the box where Pearson picked it up, and beat a man before putting his cross onto the penalty spot where unmarked substitute Mike Kavanagh headed home with his first touch, picking a great time to net his first goal for the club.
Despite five minutes of added on time and some offensive substitutions by the hosts, who by now had nothing to lose, Town held on and go into the hat for the next round draw on Monday lunchtime.
St Helens Town Chairman John McKiernan said, "It was a great day and a fine result for the lads who worked hard all over the park."
"It's always difficult playing away from home against a team we knew little about, but manager Lee Riley came with a game plan and the players executed it extremely well."
"Winterton made a real game of it, putting our defence under significant pressure for periods in both halves but Luke Faulkner marshalled his defensive line brilliantly and behind him, 'keeper Dale Newbrook was inspired making a string of fine saves.
"At the other end of the park there were good chances for Town to extend their lead and the Town fans could only really think about the victory when Mike Kavanagh headed home!"
Manager Lee Riley added: "It was a good solid performance from the players and I thought we quickly adapted to Winterton's style of play. Although it wasn't one of our more stylish or attacking performances of the season, it was about dealing with the situation and what was in front of us and we did that very well.
"The goal midway through the first half settled us down, as we knew they hadn't conceded many at home this season. We hit them consistently on the break during the second half and a second goal could have come a bit earlier.
"After the club's recent Vase form it's brilliant to reach the last 64 and we're hoping for a decent tie in Round 3.
FA Vase Second Round - Winterton Rangers 0 St Helens Town 2
Sun 14th November 2010 | FA Competition News
By Ian Templeman
St Helens Town advanced to the third round of the FA Vase for the first time since 2004 with a fantastic performance at both ends of the park against a well drilled Winterton Rangers side.
The visitors settled into the excellent surroundings at West Street well and after an initial period with the two sides feeling each other out St Helens started to create chances.
After 11 minutes of the contest Liam Pearson spotted an opening with home stopper Jack Ward off his line and attempted a lob from 25 yards out. The goalkeeper, however, recovered well to spare his blushes.
Moments later Pearson was again in the action as he was released by Marc Stephens on the left hand edge of the area his curled effort however was held by Ward.
The pressure was starting to tell as Pearson turned his marker on the left wing, looked to find Stephens on the penalty spot, but was thwarted by a well time interception from Danny Smith.
However, the deadlock was broken on 20 minutes when Mike Fargher caught Smith in possession and advanced before centring towards hotshot Pearson, who made no mistake in applying a great finish to give Town a deserved lead.
Winterton reacted well to going behind as they went on the offensive. Darren Fell collected a through ball and got into a dangerous position but his shot was blocked by a fine slide by Luke Faulkner. At the other end Iain Dyson collected a through ball and cut it back towards Pearson in a central position, but good defending by Craig Robinson saw the attack thwarted.
With the half hour mark approaching a half clearance fell to NCEL top scorer Liam Wilkin on the edge of the box, and he chested the ball down before volleying over the bar. Wilkin looked lively and but for another fine piece of defending by Faulkner he could have levelled matters.
A series of right wing corners from the hosts caused some problems in the Town box with the final set piece seeing a melee ensue with the ball somehow ending up just wide of the right hand post. The lead could have been doubled on 40 minutes as Dyson took advantage of a mistake by Smith to bear down on goal but a poor touch saw Ward seize the opportunity to claim the loose ball.
The second half saw the hosts start fast, creating two good chances in the opening three minutes of the half. Danny Barlow won the ball on the left wing and advanced goalwards before unleashing an effort that Dale Newbrook got down well to block. The rebound fell to Robinson and he could not keep his effort down firing over the bar.
Moments later Liam Slack intercepted a Town pass and his effort from the edge of the box was pushed around the post by Newbrook.
Town then had a great chance to net as Ward made a mess of what looked like a routine clearance just outside the area, and Pearson collected the ball, rounded a defender who drove him wide, before lofting an effort that beat the recovering stopper but struck the top of the crossbar and went behind.
Shortly afterwards Newbrook was again responsible for preserving the visitors lead, when he got down well to hold a free kick from Fell on the right hand edge of the box.
Pearson was still causing the hosts problems and this was the case on the hour when he beat his marker and unleashed an effort that took a deflection on its way towards goal. Ward adjusted his feet well to get a hand to the effort and push it off target, evading the onrushing Dyson.
Barlow was in the action again for the hosts when he tried his luck from 20 yards but again Newbrook was on hand to display his fine reflexes, tipping the effort over the bar. With twenty minutes to play Newbrook tipped a shot from James O'Neill over the bar before getting a slice of luck as he was beaten by a header from Rob Sanderson which struck the crossbar and broke to Slack who fired over the bar.
Possibly the best save of an excellent afternoon between the posts for Newbrook came on 73 minutes, when Barlow struck a free kick from the edge of the box which took a wicked deflection and the Town stopper changed direction to block the effort and the loose ball was cleared from danger.
The game was becoming stretched now as Winterton threw more and more men forward in an attempt to level. Pearson linked with Stephens who took advantage of the space he had to curl an effort past Ward, but just wide of the right hand upright. Pearson then linked with Dyson and the latter's effort was diverted away for a corner. A counter attack with ten minutes to play saw Pearson beat his marker on the edge of the area and his effort was deflected and Ward pushed it wide.
An inspired substitution from Town boss Lee Riley saw Town net a second. A right wing corner was sent to the front post by Stephens and this was cleared to the edge of the box where Pearson picked it up, and beat a man before putting his cross onto the penalty spot where unmarked substitute Mike Kavanagh headed home with his first touch, picking a great time to net his first goal for the club.
Despite five minutes of added on time and some offensive substitutions by the hosts, who by now had nothing to lose, Town held on and go into the hat for the next round draw on Monday lunchtime.
St Helens Town Chairman John McKiernan said, "It was a great day and a fine result for the lads who worked hard all over the park."
"It's always difficult playing away from home against a team we knew little about, but manager Lee Riley came with a game plan and the players executed it extremely well."
"Winterton made a real game of it, putting our defence under significant pressure for periods in both halves but Luke Faulkner marshalled his defensive line brilliantly and behind him, 'keeper Dale Newbrook was inspired making a string of fine saves.
"At the other end of the park there were good chances for Town to extend their lead and the Town fans could only really think about the victory when Mike Kavanagh headed home!"
Manager Lee Riley added: "It was a good solid performance from the players and I thought we quickly adapted to Winterton's style of play. Although it wasn't one of our more stylish or attacking performances of the season, it was about dealing with the situation and what was in front of us and we did that very well.
"The goal midway through the first half settled us down, as we knew they hadn't conceded many at home this season. We hit them consistently on the break during the second half and a second goal could have come a bit earlier.
"After the club's recent Vase form it's brilliant to reach the last 64 and we're hoping for a decent tie in Round 3.