Town crash out of FA Cup at AFC Mansfield
STRATFORD Town's FA Cup woes continued as they exited the competition at the first time of asking at the hands of Northern Counties East League side AFC Mansfield, writes Bryan Hale.
With the conditions made testing by the wind and rain, Jamie Sheldon tried his luck from distance in only the second minute with a useful effort which was acrobatically turned behind by the Mansfield keeper Jason White.
Stratford were having the majority of the possession with both Richard Gregory and Edwin Ahenkorah going close, but they survived a scare in the 16th minute when Oliver Fearon spotted Niall Cooper off his line and his lob from all of 35 yards out was only grabbed by the goalkeeper inches from the line as he anxiously back-pedalled.
But most of the action was at the other end, and Stratford went agonisingly close to taking the lead on the half-hour mark when Gregory’s shot came back off White and Ahenkorah hit the rebound against the post from where it ricocheted straight into the arms of the keeper.
Gregory and Sheldon again weren’t far away, but frustratingly it was still all square at half-time in spite of Stratford having had 15 goal attempts.
Mansfield were far brighter after the break as Stratford struggled to recapture their earlier dominance and after a lengthy delay due to referee being unable to continue, Mansfield took the lead in the 67th minute when Gary Bradshaw latched onto a through ball and slotted it past the advancing Cooper.
Stratford equalised eight minutes later when Guy Clark headed in from Sheldon’s corner, but Mansfield hit back to win the game with ten minutes left.
A Town free-kick was hit into the Mansfield wall and from the clearance Fearon galloped down the left before cutting in and expertly steering it past Cooper into the far corner.
TOWN: Niall Cooper, Dan Summerfield, Kieren Westwood, Guy Clark, Jordan Culliane-Liburd, Warren Brooks (Simeon Tulloch 73), James Fry (Liam Francis 85),Will Grocott, Richard Gregory(c), Edwin Ahenkorah (Edji Mbunga 69), Jamie Sheldon.
