Saturday 31st October 2020
FA Vase First Round Proper
at Wellbeing Park, Yarnfield Football Centre, Nr Stone
Stone Old Alleynians (0) 3
Jack Tomlinson 60
Luke Askey 63
Sam Bradbury 64
AFC Mansfield (2) 2
Ross Duggan 25, 38
Attendance: 75
Point and hope pictures: click HERE
This afternoon's FA Vase First Round tie at a windswept Wellbeing Park, marked the occasion of the first ever meeting between these two in-form sides: Stone Old Alleynians from Staffordshire, who ply their trade in the NWCFL Division One South, and Northern Counties East League Premier Division outfit: AFC Mansfield, who travelled across country from Forest Town in Nottinghamshire.
Stone Old Alleynians were founded in 1962 as a team for former pupils, teachers and current pupils (as of then) of Alleyne's Grammar School in Stone.
There current home: Wellbeing Park AKA Yarnfield Football Centre, has eight other pitches besides the main one that this afternoon's game took place on, that cater for games for a variety of age groups.
The rogues gallery column on the photograph above details the names of all of the different clubs that play here, at what has been the headquarters of the Staffordshire FA since 2019.
Although they haven't had a game for the past fortnight, the Bulls went into todays game having scored sixteen goals in their previous three outings, a winning streak that they were looking to regain the momentum from where they had left off, against a home side who have also been enjoying a good run of results of late too, having won three and drawn one of their last four games, the most recent of which was away from home, at St. Martins FC in Oswestry on Tuesday night, when Louis Downs netted a late equaliser for the Old Boys.
Sadly, the stop/start nature of their current campaign, appeared to have knocked the Bulls out of their stride a bit... and despite having taken a two-goal first-half lead in with them at the break, a nine minute spell during the second-half, on Halloween of all days, will probably haunt the visitors tonight as they lament and ruminate over this afternoon's loss and their subsequent exit from this seasons FA Vase.
It would be easy for anybody looking on from shelter of the covered stand that extends along the full strength of the touchline at the Yarnfield Football Centre, to point to any number of stray passes and a lack of cohesion by Mansfield at times today, but out in the wide open and exposed spaces on the field of play, there was a strong wind whipping right across the pitch, that must've given the ball a life of it's own at times... not that I'm making any excuses for anybody and I'm sure that they wouldn't want me too either.
For the record, today was the first time that the host side had appeared in the first round proper of the FA Vase... it was also the first time that AFC Mansfield have been eliminated at this stage since their inaugural entry to the competition, back in the 2013-14 season.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the Vase is that it pitches unknown quantities against each other, who are unaware of either the strengths or weaknesses of their opponents, or the comparative respective quality of any of the other competitions that operate at a similar level to that of their own.
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During the first half, it became apparent that the visitors were up against a very good side, who moved the ball around well.
But, for the most part, the Bulls contained them and restricted the Old Boys passing, flow and movement to deep areas of the pitch, while they patiently looked for opportunities to unlock a well-organised Stone side as an intriguing contest unfolded, with no quarter being given by either side.
Josh Wilde's forward running on the left was causing Stone a few problems and he was the source of the first real opening, when he fed the ball through to Ross Duggan who unselfishly laid it off to Luke Walker, who took a touch and drilled the ball narrowly past the left hand upright.
Matt Sykes long range effort met a similar fate as the ball moved about in the stiff breeze and moments later the same player was thwarted again, when Wilde released him through the left channel but his thumping low strike was deflected wide at the expense of a corner.
Stone were defending in numbers and put bodies on the line again, when Jon D'Laryea's forward chip to the livewire Morgan James, was laid off into the path of Phil Buxton who struck the ball cleanly but had his effort blocked.
D'Laryea broke free on the right and delivered a dipping cross towards Wilde who headed over from eight yards out.
The home side, began getting forward too, but Jordan Annable was on hand to charge down Will Bailey's strike and Hugo Warhurst made light work of gathering Dominic Thorley's free-kick from twenty five yards out, after Luke Walker had upended Jack Tomlinson to break up a forward move by the home side.
Play switched back to the other end, James and Sykes linked up well, to send Wilde charging through the left channel but his in-swinging effort fizzed past the far post.
The deadlock was broken in the twenty fifth minute, when James' measured knock forward saw Wilde and Duggan homing in on the Old Boys goal in tandem... and the latter took control of the moment and clipped the ball emphatically past Adam Alcock to put the visitors ahead.
Stone went looking for an immediate response, but Warhurst got down well to keep out Louis Downs close range strike, while moments later Wilde got between the same player and the ball and shielded it back to his young keeper inside the six yard box.
A good passing move saw Mansfield plot their way forward on the left, leading to Wilde sending Sykes on a run towards the dead ball line, but with Luke Askey closing in on him the Bulls number eleven put his angled knock into the side netting.
The visitors doubled their lead in the thirty-eighth minute, when Luke Walker advanced into the Stone area from the right and went to ground under a challenge from Ollie Davies.
Alcock got down to his right to block Duggan's resulting spot-kick, but the prolific striker snaffled up the ball from the rebound and tucked it away.
Advantage Mansfield... what could possibly go wrong now?
HT: Old Boys 0 v AFC Mansfield 2
It would be fair to say that the visitors had the better of the opening forty-five minutes and though they started well enough after the interval, Stone upped the ante as the game moved on and all but laid claim to the second-half.
Both sides had their moments during the opening exchanges as the game restarted, but the tide turned dramatically in the fifty-fifth minute, when Thorley was tripped from behind by Annable as he advanced towards the Bulls goal. Mansfield had players moving rapidly in to rectify the situation, not least D'Laryea who wasn't very far away, but in exercising the letter of the law to the nth degree, the match referee: Alexander Perkin ruled that Thorley had been denied a clear goal scoring opportunity and subsequently dismissed Annable, issuing him with a straight red card.
Though one could sympathise with Annable's dilemma, I personally definitely thought that the red card was harsh... at best, because I'm not convinced that Thorley was actually the last man, I can imagine that those of us who were calling for leniency would have been quite as perplexed with the outcome of the situation, if a similar incident had unfolded at the opposite end of the pitch. Bailey hooked the resulting free-kick over the bar, but the visitors were now facing a thirty-five minute slog, minus a pivotal and key player from the heart of their defence.
The next goal had taken on a life of it's own and though Mansfield pushed forward looking to give themselves a three goal cushion to defend their lead from, Wilde, Walker, Duggan and Sykes were all denied by Alcock and his determined defence.
Just five minutes after Annable had been directed towards the changing rooms, Stone had the ball in the back of the visitors net, when Tomlinson scored from close range after a quick exchange of passes with Sam Wilson inside the Bulls area.
Stone who had to be content with threading a string of passes together away from the danger zone before the break, were now pinging it about in the final third and stretching Mansfield's depleted ranks to breaking point. Things became even more ominous for the Bulls when Thorley's left wing free kick beyond the back post, was headed back across the face of the visitors goal and Luke Askey bulged the back of the net with a thumping shot. Less than sixty seconds later, Liam Hickson hooked the ball in from the left and Sam Bradbury planted the ball past Warhurst to put the hosts ahead.
Wayne Brotherton's Staffordshire side had the scent of victory in their nostrils now and almost dealt Mansfield another blow when Tomlinson crashed the ball against the foot of the left hand post.
Tomlinson pushed forward yet again and rolled a sideways pass to Bailey, but the experienced D'Laryea got his body in the way of the Stone number eight's shot.
Hickson missed a great chance from close range that might well have put the game beyond Mansfield's reach as they needed to attack to get get back on level terms while battling to keep a buoyant home side at bay.
With time running out for the Bulls, Duggan surged forward on the right hand side of the area, saw off the attentions of Askey and let fly with an angled strike that flew over the stanchion of Alcock's goal.
Duggan's battling presence opened up another opportunity but when Alcock could only parry the number nine's shot and the rebound fell towards Wilde, Davies blocked the shot and the ball cannoned off of him and wide of the target.
In the final minute of stoppage time, Warhurst delivered a long free-kick into the Stone area from neat the halfway line... in the resulting goalmouth scramble, Duggan stabbed the ball towards the goal but Alcock smothered it and once he was in possession he was in no hurry to release it as the clock ticked down. Game over.
FT: Stone Old Alleynians 3 v AFC Mansfield 2
Good luck to Stone Old Alleynians in the next round, they bust a gut in the second half today to comeback from their half-time deficit and though Annable's dismissal gave them a massive leg up, they still had to find three goals from somewhere and their smash and grab raid while they were in the ascendancy would've been the undoing of many a team.
The simple answer is: because I was working for today's visiting team: AFC Mansfield.
I've been 'temping' at the club, filling in doing a variety of different jobs at various times this season (as I have done on several occasions in previous years too), because they're currently short staffed due to a disproportionate number of ailments and illnesses amongst club personnel at this present time. So now you know. Get well soon one and all.
