Match Report

Hitchin Town 2 Clevedon Town 2 aet
Clevedon win 4-3 on Penalties

Clevedon Town created club history last night when they beat Hitchin Town in their
FA Cup replay and reached the 4th qualifying round for the first time since they first entered the competition almost a hundred years ago. It took a penalty shoot out to decide the tie after extra time failed to settle the match and Clevedon, who played for over 40 minutes with just 9 men, after the dismissal of both Scott Hendy and Geraint Bater, held their nerve to win 4-3 with Danny Greaves saving two Hitchin penalties and Leon Hapgood scoring the crucial 5th penalty for the Seasiders.

The match started with Hitchin in control and it was a while before Clevedon were able to settle into any rhythm, especially after losing Danny Haines to a first half injury. However it was they who took the lead in the 40th minute when Billy Clark, not Rob Scott as reported in the media, poked home the ball following a goal-mouth scramble. The visitors hung on to that lead until the 78th minute when Carl Williams was deemed to have been brought down by Mike Trought and David Deeney scored the resulting penalty, Geraint Bater being shown the red card following the incident for disputing the award. Minutes later it was Scott Hendy who joined him for an early bath and it then became an uphill battle for Clevedon to stay in the tie. However their amazing spirit and work rate came to the fore and they took the tie to extra time as their hosts failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage. Amazingly it was Clevedon who regained the lead when Leon Hapgood managed to convert a Mitchell Page pass in the 110th minute and, despite increasing pressure, they looked as if they would hold on. However those hopes were dashed when Glen Lamacraft sprung up just 20 seconds from the end to convert Mark Ducket’s cross and grab a late, late equaliser for the Canaries to send Clevedon’s contingent lamenting how close they had come to winning without the need for the lottery of a penalty shoot out.

With Matt Rawlins coming on for Mitchell Page with just seconds left, specifically to take a penalty, you would have imagined that it would be Hitchin’s players who would be high in confidence after their sudden respite, but it was not to be for the Canaries. Clevedon goalkeeper Danny Greaves saved the very first penalty from his Hitchin counterpart, Rob Beckwith, and then saved another, while Jack Pitcher, Matt Rawlins, Tom Jacobs and lastly club captain Leon Hapgood scoring for Clevedon, Rob Scott having the only “miss” on the night. In the end it was Clevedon’s courageous, if tired, heroes who went through 4-3 on penalties and a tie with Welling United as the team and its supporters celebrated a magnificent win despite having to play without two men for so long. So history was made by Phil Bater’s men and they now have a chance to play Football League opposition for the first time in a competitive match, and raise the club profile, if they can only overcome their next big hurdle.

Gallery

Thumbnail panels:

Team Sheet

No:	Name:	Sub:	Goal:
1	Greaves
2	Hapgood (Capt)		2 (1p)
3	Trought
4	Scott
5	Hendy
6	Clark		1
7	Pitcher		1p
8	Jacobs		1p
9	Page
10	Bater
11	Haines
12	Rawlins	9	1p
14	Sheppard	11
15	Asechemie
16	-
17	-
Own Goal	-

Match Details

Date:	17/10/06
Competition:	FA Cup Third Qualifying Round Replay
Opponents:	Hitchin Town
Venue:	Top Field Fishponds Road Hitchin Herts SG5 1NJ
Half Time:	1 - 0
Full Time:	2 - 2 aet, Clevedon win 4-3 on Penalties
Attendance:	286
Match Report:	Steve Small
Photographs:	Tony Merrett
Notes:

Downloads