INJURY TIME DOUBLE SEES FC MANSFIELD INTO NEXT ROUND

 EuroSoccer Nottinghamshire Senior League: Intermediate Cup 1st Round

AFC COLSTERWORTH S & S 2 FC MANSFIELD 3

A minutes silence was respected by both teams and their supporters for Dylan Rich who sadly passed away last weekend before the kick off of this Notts Senior League Intermediate Cup tie between Division Two South Club AFC Colsterworth and Division Two North Club FC Mansfield.

The venue had been changed to South Witham as Colsterworth's ground was being used for a very popular annual Bikers Rally event.

The game kicked off and the visitors should really have opened the scoring after just nineteen seconds when they broke through but their forward skyed the ball over the bar. FC Mansfield continued to press forward with chances but could not hit the target, as they had the ball cleared off the line and then saw a shot hit the crossbar.

Against the run of play and Colsterworth's first attack on goal on 36 minutes, they took the lead, when THOMAS FIO lobbed the ball over his defender and ran on and slotted the ball in to the net.

At Half Time I was joined by Nottingham based hopper Simon, meanwhile FC Mansfield bought on a sub JORDAN COLEMAN and he was soon in the game on 50 minutes when he converted a penalty after a trip in the box.

The visitors continued to press but the homesters on 68 minutes were awarded a free kick that found its way to THOMAS FIO who turned and tucked the ball in to the corner of the net to restore AFC's lead.

With the clock ticking down in to injury time, a ball was played in to the Colsterworth penalty area and a trip led to JORDAN COLEMAN stepping up and converted his second from the spot to even things up at 2-2. At this late stage I think everyone thought we were heading for Extra time, but the visitors had other ideas when a long ball was punted down the pitch and GEORGE CARTWRIGHT ran on to a loose ball and slotted home the winner.

Must give a mention to young referee Lewis Hunt who I felt had a excellent match.

After the match, both teams made donations to the Charity Blog to take the running total to a superb £591.00 for FAMILY FUND, a charity that helps and supports families with children with special needs and disabilities, so a BIG thank you to both clubs.

To see the 158 photos from the match, please click on this LINK