7th August 2021
Lakenheath vs Mulbarton Wanderers @ The Nest - Lakenheath
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
15:00 KO
£7 entry
Attendance - 105
Half-time score: Lakenheath 1-1 Mulbarton Wanderers
Goals:
Lakenheath: Avis - 3'
Mulbarton Wanderers: Baird - 38'
Mulbarton Wanderers: Altay - 53'
Lakenheath: Underwood - 99'
Final score: Lakenheath 2-2 Mulbarton Wanderers
Depressing forecasts of torrential rain and thunderstorms had cancelled the family event that I was supposed to be attending, so I decided to take the opportunity to go and watch some FA Cup football. With the ominous forecasts, I did not fancy the 90min trip to Arlesey Town to watch Thetford, so decided to make the short trip up the road to see Lakenheath take on a familiar foe in Mulbarton Wanderers, in what was a historic day for Lakenheath FC, this being their first ever FA Cup tie in their history, quite a special moment. As it turned out, the rain never came, with pleasant sunshine throughout the game....oh well! I was anticipating a close game, both teams know each other well, having competed in the hotly contested Thurlow Nunn D1 North, and both being promoted this season. Lakenheath were scoring well, with 6 goals in 2 league games, 4 of which were scored by bagsman Shaun Avis, but they had also conceded 5, so needless to say, I was expecting goals today!
I could not resist buying another historic programme for Lakenheath, this their first ever FA Cup tie. Another special one for the collection.
Lakenheath got out of the blocks quickly and it only took 3 minutes to take the lead, a pin-point cross from McIntosh, who was about midway in the Mulbarton half on the left wing, was met by none other than Avis, who headed the ball home. He has now scored Lakenheath's first ever Step 5 and FA Cup goals, two incredible moments in the history of this club, Avo, what a player!
Lakenheath nearly doubled their lead in the 18th minute, in a similar move to the goal, McIntosh crossing in to Avis, however, the ball was slightly lower, coming in at Avis' midriff, and he was unable to fully control the ball.
Mulbarton Wanderers had not really threatened the Lakenheath goal until the 22nd minute, when, from a deep position, Doyle made a run towards goal, and the field opened up for him allowing him to crack in a shot from near the edge of the box, but the height of the ball was perfect for Beckwith to dive and parry to his right.
In the 32nd minute, McIntosh again crossed an inviting ball into the box, that Avis narrowly missed. After this chance, Mulbarton began to grow into the game more, winning the midfield battle, allowing them to create more chances, and in the 35th minute, Whiting passed the ball through to Henery who got a shot on target.
Mulbarton exerted more pressure on Lakenheath, and in the 38th minute they were able to penetrate the defence, a poor Lakenheath clearance finding Doyle who pushed the ball out to the on-rushing Baird on the right wing, who took the ball through towards goal and unleashed a hard and accurate strike into the corner of the goal, beating Beckwith. There were no further notable chances in the rest of the half, but the last action resulted in the injury of Lakenheath player Tom Thulborn, who was clattered by the keeper when contesting a long ball. Thulborn initially looked the favourite to get to the ball first, but Wright just got their first, punching clear, but also colliding with Thulborn in the process. Thulborn screamed out in pain, holding his back/side.
In the second half, Thulborn was replaced with Jack Slater, so was presumably still suffering from the collision. Mulbarton came out in the second half looking a lot stronger than the 1st half, and were quickly able to take the lead in the 53rd minute. Two Lakenheath defenders collided with Mulbarton striker Altay, leading to a free-kick being awarded in a dangerous location. Baird whipped the free-kick at pace towards the far post, and fouled striker Altay attacked the ball, outjumping the defence to head home, 2-1 to Mulbarton.
After weathering a bit of Mulbarton pressure, Lakenheath started to get the run of the attacking play as Mulbarton became very compact and organised. Breaking this down was going to be hard-work, but Lakenheath came close in the 60th minute. Captain Hawley picked up the ball and cut through the midfield towards the goal, laying the ball off to Slater who was able to turn and shoot only for the ball to be blocked by a defender. In the 75th minute, McIntosh tried to beat the keeper from a corner, but the keeper was equal to this, leaping up to catch the ball.
Mulbarton almost settled the tie in the 78th minute with a gift from Lakenheath keeper Beckwith. Beckwith tried to chip over the onrushing attacker Baird, but miscalculated and Baird was able to head the ball towards the goal, over Beckwith. Luckily, Beckwith is a tall keeper so was just able to stretch and catch the ball, disaster averted, just! Heart in the mouth stuff.
In the final 10 minutes Mulbarton certainly played to protect the lead, and they employed every time wasting tactic in the book, going down after minimal contact, diving, taking excessively long for free-kicks, throw-ins and substitutions, and feigning injury. This, along with one or two aggressive Mulbarton fans, seemed to fire up Lakenheath and they pressed hard to get the equaliser. In the 91st minute, Enaro skipped past the Mulbarton defence on the right wing, crossed the ball in to Slater who looked certain to be able to crack a shot on target, but out of nowhere goalkeeper Tom Wright leapt down low to claim the ball before Slater could get the ball out of his feet. Lakenheath kept pressing, and a minute later, a McIntosh corner was met by Hawley, but was cleared off the line by Lane, so close! Lakenheath continued to press, but Mulbarton appeared to be too resolute and it looked like Lakenheath's first FA Cup journey was already over. The minutes ticked buy, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98 and still no final whistle, which was not surprising after all the long stoppages. Then, in the 99th minute, a long ball was punted up field by Lakenheath and a poor headed clearance fell to the 17-year old Banks, who nodded the ball down to Underwood, the ball bounced once, Underwood swung his left leg and connected perfectly to send the ball curving into the top right corner of the goal - what a volley from the defender!! The Lakenheath players and fans were rightly overjoyed at this late equaliser. Footage of the spectacular strike below:
The game played on for another couple of minutes, and Lakenheath, now in the ascendancy, tried to get a winner but were unable to find a way through and the referee blew his whistle. This season, replays were back on the cards instead of penalties, so this means that Lakenheath will have to travel to Mulberry Park for the replay this Tuesday evening. Based on what happened, Lakenheath will certainly be the happier of the two teams with this prospect.
Overall, despite Mulbarton going 2-1 up, I think Lakenheath looked the more threatening team and had the better chances, although Mulbarton were certainly a more organised and compact outfit, making for a really close and exciting game. Mulberry Park will be a difficult place to travel to on a Tuesday night, so I hope that Lakenheath are able to field a strong side. Some notable players were missing today such as Reece Clarke, Tom Debenham, Lee Hammond, Nick Castellan and Sam Peters (it is believed Peters was injured during warm-up), so hopefully their return will strengthen the team, although it has to be said that the youngsters such as Jack Slater, Teddy Webber and Euan Banks played well today, Banks with the all important assist for the Underwood equaliser. It is unlikely I will be at that game as I will be covering Thetford Town vs Walsham-le-Willows for their opening home game of the season. Thetford crashed out of the FA Cup 4-3 away to Arlesey Town, and Walsham-le-Willows beat Swaffham Town 3-0, so this league game will still be going ahead. I wish Lakenheath all the best, and hope to watch them in the Preliminary Round against Hadleigh United, so I will be watching the score closely! UP THE HEATH!!
Line-Ups:
LAKENHEATH: Charlie Beckwith, Fin Logan, Sam Hawley (C), Dean Grogan, Casey Underwood, Alex McIntosh, Craig Nurse, Shaun Avis, Kelvin Enaro, Tom Thulborn. SUBS: Euan Banks, Jack Slater, Teddy Webber
MULBARTON WANDERERS: Tom Wright, Tom Hislop, Dom Doggett, Cain Eagleton, James Page (C), Danny Self, Tim Henery, Tom Baird, Elliot Altay, Sam Whiting, Matthew Doyle. SUBS: Danny Beaumont, Ross McNeilly, Owen Lane, Ben Thompson, Toby Oliver, Jamie Smith.
Comments