Mossley 5 - 2 Bedworth United

The road to Wembley. It’s long and we may not get to the end of it but unlike our “who forgot to put the petrol in?” attempt to travel it in the FA Cup, we’re at least out of the drive way in the FA Trophy.

It was the visitors from the Zamaretto Midland Division though who made all the early running in this Preliminary Round match; the home side struggling to find the rhythm which had seen them win their previous three games. A task admittedly not entirely helped by the very strong wind they were having to play into.

I’d like to be able to tell you exactly how breezy it was but unfortunately Francis Beaufort forgot to include on his scale a category, between rustling branches and foamy waves, specifically for those moments when floodlight pylons appear to bend double.

When Mossley did finally get their bearings the reward was instantaneous. Nineteen minutes had elapsed when Karl Brown received Jordan Goodeve's quickly taken free-kick and fired a 20 yard shot past Paul Shepherd in the Bedworth goal to give the Lilywhites the lead.

As Mossley continued to pile on the pressure it looked like it would only be a matter of time before they found the net again and they did so seven minutes before the interval. A rare lull in the wind allowed Peter Collinge's long down field clearance to reach the edge of the Bedworth penalty area. With the visiting defence seemingly more interested in observing this event than dealing with it, Steve Moore was able to take control of the ball and though his initial shot was saved he forced the rebound over the line with a little assistance from the boot of Shepherd.

I use the term ‘little’ in the ‘a lot of’ sense of the word because Moore’s shot may well have sneaked wide if United’s keeper hadn’t diverted it over the line in slightly comical fashion.

The actuality of going two goals behind appeared to instil a bit of fight into the Warwickshire side and Mossley had Collinge to thank for the visitors returning to the dressing room at half-time goal less; the pick of his saves being a stop with his right leg after Fazel Koriya had been put clean through on goal.

Following the break Bedworth continued to pile forward in search of a way back into the game and after a couple of near misses they eventually halved the deficit – Matty Blair becoming the first player to find the back of the Lilywhites net in over six hours of football.

However, just when it looked like Mossley may be about to undergo one of their infamous 'wobbles' Moore restored the two goal advantage; the former Curzon player finishing a great move by curling the ball around the dive of Shepherd from the corner of the United box.

It was a goal though not without its controversy. An attempted substitution by the visitors didn’t go quite to plan as the replacement player was refused permission to take to the pitch until he’d removed the white cycling shorts he was wearing under his teams green ones. As exercises go a meaningless one as he was that small his shorts resembled long trousers and you could barely see his socks let alone any light coloured Lycra wear. It meant Bedworth were reduced to ten men until the next break in play which unfortunately for them, as you may have guessed by now, was the goal.

Substitute Steve Settle made it four when he broke clear of Bedworth's very loose approximation of what an offside trap should look like and he grabbed his second, and Mossley's fifth, not long after with a stooping header from a Ben Richardson cross.

A perfect example of a consolation goal arrived twelve minutes from time when Jason Moore added a second for the Greenbacks but the closing moments were played out with the home side looking to extend their lead further; something they came close to doing on more than one occasion as Andy Russell had a goal ruled out for offside and Sam Walker saw a wind assisted effort padded wide by Shepherd.

And here it is, the part you’ve skipped all those lovingly crafted words above to see: highlights from the game! Actually you’re not even reading this bit either are you? Sigh...


Plenty of credit to Bedworth though for continuing to press forward in search of goals, even when all hope was gone, but significantly more praise should be bestowed on a good performance from the Lilywhites. It took a bit for them to get going but, an interval straddling iffy period aside, the victory and the margin of it were well deserved.

I’m sure the £2000 the club receives for winning the tie will be made to feel loved and cherished, but more importantly we get another weekend break from the drudgery of league football and the chance to dream once more of maybe visiting an overpriced stadium built for the nation in north London in May. Even if it does mean going to Spalding in a little under a fortnights time.

And no, I won’t be twittering from that one.