Playing badly and winning

BARROW TOWN 1-2 (aet) OADBY TOWN

Tuesday 27th September 2011

Leicestershire Senior Cup 1st Round

Riverside Park, Barrow-upon-Soar

A week off from work fortunately coincided with a midweek fixture for Oadby Town and pitted probably the two best teams in the competition against each other in a 1st round tie. This is Oadby's first venture in the Leicestershire Senior Cup since the 1998/99 season began like it did then @ Barrow Town. The final was reached before losing to Birstall United on penalty kicks. It began last night with a narrow 2-1 victory against an under strength side, which to be honest was a poor performance from an Oadby point of view. It is doubtful whether they can or will play as badly as this all season. 

Barrow started the brightest and created a couple of good chances in the opening ten minutes but the efforts, both from Naby Beny Doumbouya went side and blocked. Oadby then settled and opening the scoring on 19 minutes. James Miller flicked the ball to Michael Reeves who turned in the penalty area and finished coolly into the corner of the net. It took until 27 minutes for Oadby's first corner of the game but Craig Jacobs headed over. Just after the half hour mark captain Jon Stevenson outpaced the Barrow defence but his shot went wide of the post, and just two minutes later Reeves shot was saved by the Barrow keeper. Meanwhile Doumbouya continued to cause problems for Oadby and had further chances  to level things up, but the efforts all failed to trouble Danny Hanley in the Oadby goal. With the half coming to an end a latch ditch tackle from Steve Fenton prevented an equalising goal, and in the last seconds Stevenson should have put the game to bed but having been put clean through curled his shot wide of the upright. 

The second half was primarily a scrappy affair with Oadby offering very little and Barrow looking the most likely to get the next goal. Chances came and went until the 90th minute as Connor Hardy headed home a right wing cross for a deserved equaliser. This woke Oadby up and they should have won the game in injury time. Firstly an excellent cross from Jack Lane was headed over by substitute Kelvin Philips and then Lane himself curled a shot wide.

The first period of extra time saw Oadby step up a gear and took the game to their hosts. Firstly Matt Piper dragged a tame effort wide and Stevenson failed to connect to a Philips cross properly which saw the ball go wide. The winner came on 114 minutes when Piper saw the Barrow keeper off his line and lobbed him from 25 yards out. The ball hit the bar and bounced in off keepers head. The second period of extra time saw Oadby content to sit on their lead which in my opinion is a dangerous game to play at any level. Fortunately the game petered out  and Barrow could not find another equaliser that would take the game to penalty kicks.

Admission: £4

Programme: with admission

Attendance: 64 (head count)

Match rating: 1 1/2 out of 5

Senior Cup 1st Round - other ties

Anstey Nomads 2-1 Bardon Hill

Aylestone Park 2-1 Birstall United

Ellistown 2-1 Dunton & Broughton Rangers

Harborough Town 4-1 Desford

Highfield Rangers 2-5 St. Andrews

Medbourne 4-5 Sileby Town

Oakham United 1-2 Ashby Ivanhoe

Ratby Sports 4-4 Saffron Dynamo
after extra time. Ratby won 4-3 on penalty kicks

Thurmaston Town 3-1 Holwell Sports

Thurnby Nirvana 2-1 Blaby & Whetstone Athletic

Uppingham Town 1-2 Cottesmore Amateurs