So my second game of the Halloween weekend saw me over at Aveley‘s Millfield for an FA Trophy First Qualfying Round tie between Grays Athletic and Wingate & Finchley.
Both sides ply their trade in the Ryman Premier Division with the hosts struggling down in the relegation places whilst Wingate are in the mid table region after a mixed season so far. Both sides had picked up decent results over the week, Grays holding Leiston to a 1-1 draw, whilst Wingate thrashed Tonbridge Angels last weekend.
However the hosts had lost at home last weekend and Wingate lost in midweek so it was hard to know how this tie would go. The game almost had it’s opening goal after barely two minutes as the visitors almost grabbed an early lead as a ball was flicked onto the bar and then the follow up effort also thumped against the post as the hosts survived an early scare.
However any thoughts that would spark a game full of goal mouth action were dampened for the next twenty or so minutes and the only notable moment was when the referee almost got the ball kicked into an unfortunate area, which made the fans chuckle somewhat. The game had certainly been a poor event so far with the tie lacking any sort of quality.
But on 25 minutes came the opening goal, and it was a pretty good strike too, as a ball into the box found Steve Wales free on the right side of the area and he hit a superb effort across keeper Tangara and into the top corner. It had been the only moment of quality in the game thus far and it gave the visitors the advantage.
However this advantage only lasted eight minutes as the hosts fought back to equalise when a shot was saved by Gore but David Fallah was quickest to react and followed in to score and give the home fans something to cheer about.
The tempo of the game had risen slightly since the goals and the hosts almost pounced on a defensive lapse when a poor back header from Claudio Vincu almost allowed the hosts in but keeper Gore came and cleared, and although his clearance went straight to Luke Hornsley, the forward could not divert his effort at goal. With no further goal mouth action to speak of the teams went back to their dressing rooms still level.
Half Time Grays Athletic 1 Wingate & Finchley 1
The start of the second period saw both teams have openings, the hosts almost netting when a ball bounced to them inside the box but after rounding the keeper a defender managed to get back to make a crucial last ditch saving tackle, and then the visitors were slipped in but a poor finish went straight at keeper Tangara.
Eight minutes into the half and a sloppy pass from the hosts saw the visitors in down the left and a ball flashed across goal was almost touched in but just invaded the stretching legs before five minutes later another decent opening for the visitors saw host keeper Tangara get down well to save a decent effort.
Just past the hour mark the hosts almost took the lead in fortuitous circumstances when after a decent run the home side over ran the ball but saw a clearance strike against them and almost catch keeper Gore out but he managed to catch the ball and just prevent a corner in the process, much to the Grays faithful’s dismay behind that goal, who thought he had carried it over the line.
More good pressure from Grays saw an effort blocked inside the box before being scrambled clear as the game entered its final twenty minutes and with just over fifteen minutes left another defensive lapse from the home side saw the visitors in behind, a ball squared across, but the effort blocked. Then moments later another Wingate effort was saved down low by Tangara.
A minute later the hosts were screaming for a spot kick after they were convinced the visitors had handled inside the box but the referee said no, and then on 79 minutes a decent long range effort from the away side was well held by hosts keeper Tangara, who was seeing a lot of the ball.
The final ten minutes saw Wingate put the hosts back line under more pressure and on 82 minutes Wales had the ball in the net again but the flag had already gone up, much to the visiting benches dismay, and then with two minutes left the visitors wanted a penalty for handball but this one also fell on deaf ears.
Wingate then so nearly netted an 89th minute goal but saw hosts keeper Tangara produce a brilliant save from point blank range before the follow up was deflected wide, and then moments later the visitors fired another effort inches over, this after a Grays break saw a brilliant tackle to deny a one on one opportunity.
The hosts mounted one last attack in the 93rd minute and so nearly won the tie as a shot was beaten away by keeper Gore before the follow up went way over the bar. It means neither side could find a winning goal and so require a replay on Tuesday night at Wingate’s Maurice Rebak Stadium in Finchley. It promises to be another good competitive tie.
Full Time Grays Athletic 1 Wingate & Finchley 1
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