Last season Chadderton were the team that ensured Mossley's participation in the competition would go no further than the first round. Made up mainly on the night of reserves and fringe players, the Oldham based side sent a strong Lilywhites eleven crashing out of the competition with a 1 – 0 defeat.
Therefore when both sides were drawn to play one another again at the same stage of the contest this season, there were a few who feared that lightning could strike twice. Or maybe it was just me.
Fortunately, one year on from that cold and memorable for all the wrong reasons night at the Broadway ground, there was to be no repeat of that highly embarrassing exit.
Injuries and numerous non-availabilities meant that Mossley had a slightly unfamiliar look to their line-up going into this game. In fact the number of absentees meant a recall for some players who'd been given the “good luck at your new club” speech earlier in the season.
If it upset the rhythm and dynamics of the team in anyway it certainly wasn't noticeable as straight from the kick-off Mossley carried on from where they'd left off against Rossendale in their previous game – pushing their opponents back towards their own goal through some good attacking football.
Despite dominating possession and spending roughly 75% of the opening period camped in the half Chadderton were defending, Mossley just couldn't turn their advantage into goals. That's not to say that they weren't having plenty of attempts – they were, the problem was that they were keeping the ball boy busier than Lee Swanson in the Chaddy goal.
After the interval though the Lilywhites finally began to make Swanson work, not least when he had to make a superb finger tip save to push a dipping drive by Ryan Cook onto the crossbar. His heroics however proved to have been somewhat in vain as less than a minute later, and from the resultant corner, he was having to pick the ball out of his net; David Brookes finally giving Mossley the lead they deserved with a header from close range.
Midway through the half Chadderton enjoyed a brief spell where they went close on a couple of occasions to causing the home side a few problems, but any hopes they may have had of prolonging the match by taking it into extra-time were swept away with twelve minutes of the game remaining.
Their failure to deal with a dangerous cross from Sam Holt resulted in a loose ball rolling into the path of Nick Challinor, and the Mossley left back finished a move he'd started by dispatching it through a crowd of players to put his side two up.
It was Holt himself who made the final score line one more reflective of the game by heading home a deep cross from Kristian Bowden in the last minute of the match.
Well technically it was an own goal. Swanson actually saved Holt's header by pushing it onto the post, only for it bounce back off the upright and him before it crossed the line. To paraphrase Victoria Wood,his expression as it did so took on that of someone sat in a photo booth who'd just noticed a sausage being poked through the curtain as the flash went off.
There's no denying that this fixture was a potential banana skin for Mossley but thankfully, unlike last year, it's one that they skilfully managed to sidestep.
It wasn't a great game of football but it wasn't bad either. We'll more than likely see worse this season if indeed we haven't already (the Radcliffe game in August springs to mind for some reason).
The Lilywhites played some good stuff at times which I find reassuring as it shows that players on the fringes of the starting eleven can slot straight into the team without necessitating a change in the way we play. Something which at this level is a rare bonus.
Of course Chadderton being the opposition tempers any 'getting carried away' there may be with the performances of some players, but hopefully the efforts of David Brookes and Scott Holt, whose departure from the club was announced in the Oldham Chronicle on the afternoon of the match, will get them a second chance in a Lilywhite shirt.
And now all that's out of the way, and because the match is beyond the auspices of the Unibond 'double standards' League, it's highlights time!
And finally, to those of you who've asked how I'm doing and wished me well with my current back problem – thank you! It is very much appreciated.
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