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Milby�s cup dream died at the first hurdle and in the most bizarre of coincidences |
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Ben Bruce had been drafted in as referee at the last minute, due towithdrawal of the appointed official. Mid way through the second half with the scores locked at one all, a surging run from the Hinckley left winger resulted in him encroaching on goal. His run was bought to an abrupt halt by Steve Brown�s lunging challenge, and Bruce had no option but to point to the spot against his own team. The spot kick was duly despatched and Milby couldn�t find the breakthrough that they needed. But it could have been a totally different tale had Milby found the net when presented with the chances. As with many other games this season, Milby failed to find their top gear for the first portion of the game and sustained a lot of early pressure on the Milby goalmouth. However �keeper Milliner was never sorely tested and the game soon became a swift end to end clash. The chances were there at either end. Milby�s best chance of the first half fell arguably to Andy Lyall who broke through the defence only to find the �keeper quickly off his line to smother the ball. But for all their perseverance Milby couldn�t break through the sturdy Hinckley backline and disaster struck for Milby from a corner. The ball wasn�t fully cleared from the back and, SOME GEEZER fired in a shot which nestled itself snugly in Rick Milliners back post. The alarm bells sounded and Milby looked to push forward to get the equaliser but kept finding themselves thwarted by the heroics of the in form Hinckley �keeper who was making his debut. But despite the lions share of the possession Milby couldn�t create an encouraging opening and the half time break came as a welcome chance for Milby to regain their composure. �Halftime���Hinckley�1��Milby Albion�0�� Milby�s halftime pep talk must have pushed all the right buttons because within thirty-four seconds of them taking the kick off, they had cancelled their deficit. Milby kicked off, and the ball was played out to Alan Verdon on the right wing. He lifted a through ball into the area for Andy Lyall to chase onto. This time he beat the �keeper to the ball and unleashed a shot which rose into the top corner of the goal. There was now a real sense of belief in the Milby team and they dictated the flow of the play, confining their opponents to their own half. Milby�s next opening was quick to follow, and it fell to Andy Lyall yet again. The pacey centre forward lost his marker and raced onto Dan Scott�s low near post cross before lashing the ball towards goal, only to see it agonisingly strike the top of the bar. But the mood soon turned sour. Steve Brown reacted angrily to the decision to give the penalty and could count himself lucky not to be sent off. He was substituted before A.N. Other had slotted home the resultant spot kick. Milby had it all to do again. The best chance they had for the remainder of the game came only five minutes later. Andy Lyall was bought down twenty five yards out from goal, and Tim Sharpe curled his free kick goalwards, only to see the �keeper palm the ball onto the bar and eventually away from goal. The last quarter of an hour saw Milby pile continuos pressure on their opponents but often contributed to be their own worst enemy. No more so Mark McConn, whose unnecessary backpass was over hit and nearly lobbed �keeper Milliner, who conceded an indirect free kick. Hinckley took it quickly and the ball was played across the six-yard box for the incoming gleeful Centre forward. Unfortunately he messed up his shot and screwed it wide of the post. Matt Pamplin could have equalised at the other end against his former club, but he found his shot deflected just wide after a game of ping-pong in the Hinckley penalty area. However Milby couldn�t find the back of the net which would have saved them from the early exit of the cup. Now they could turn their attentions to the league campaign. |
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