Wealdstone 0 – 2 Histon
Wealdstone
4QR0 - 2
HistonWhat can you say about a game like this?
Stones were the underdogs, Histon seemingly scoring for fun in the league, but Stones management had done tier homework and changed the style slightly to combat the visitors greatest threat, from the wings and set pieces.
Stones shaded by far the better of the first half (with the exception of Lance Key in the Histon goal). In possession, control, shots on target, Stones were well in front – 11 attempts on target and two off for Stones, two and two for Histon showed how the game was going as Wealdstone never let their opponents settle and closed down from the forwards back.
At half time the score remained 0 – 0 – Lance Key undoubtedly keeping the visitors in the game with a string of great saves and blocks, two in particular from Jolly and Morgan in quick succession, while the best chance for the visitors was a 4th minute corner, headed wide.
The second half started in similar vein as Stones again forced saves from Key, but it was Histon who broke away, Kennedy collecting the ball – despite looking offside there was no flag – and he raced on to slot the ball past Carter to give the visitors the lead. Still Stones pressed forward but they couldn’t find a way through the by now packed defence and Key in great form – when they did beat him, they were thwarted by the woodwork as Burrell saw a shot cannon back of the bar.
The with Stones pressing forward for an equaliser, Histon sealed the win when a low cross from the left found Cambridge and he scored the visitors second on 82 minutes.
Few in the ground, home or away fans thought the result reflected the play or the chances, but the only thing for certain is that you won’t win football matches with a 0 after your name…
Histon now face Shrewsbury at home in the first round, while Stones fans write up Great Disappointments of Our Time, No 416…
Harrow Times Steve Paull
Wealdstone 0 Histon 2
DAYLIGHT robbery, smash and grab, call it what you will but somehow Histon find themselves in the first round of the FA Cup and not Wealdstone. Two classic counter attack second half goals put them through, as the Stones squandered chance after chance as well as finding visiting goalkeeper Keys at the top of his game. Wealdstone striker Marvin Morgan, in particular, must be wondering why he didn’t walk away from the game with the matchball after scoring a hat-trick.
The first half was a procession of Wealdstone near misses. Brian Jones fired straight into Key’s grateful arms as early as the third minute and Martin Carter shot wide when well placed minutes later.
Morgan’s pass gave Gary Burrell time to compose himself before shooting, but Key was quickly off his line to smother the shot.
When James Fisher put in a teasing low cross for Richard Jolly at the near post, somehow the collision of defenders, Key, and Jolly sent the ball perfectly to the unattended Morgan six yards out. With the goal at his mercy his shot hit the grounded Farrington and looped over the bar. Jolly, Morgan and Jones all had further opportunities as the half progressed, the pick of them, a superbly struck 25 yarder from Jolly, fizzed past the upright with Key well beaten.
Goalscoring opportunities for Histon were very few but Barker glanced a header wide at the near post and Andy Carter made a smart save when Cambridge produced a snapshot from among a crowd of bodies.
The second half, not unexpectedly, could not live up to the all action first, but, although Histon competed more, Wealdstone still forced the pace and still could not make the breakthrough. Twice in a matter of seconds Key got his bulky frame in the way of Morgan efforts from inside the six yard box.
Adrian Cambridge then tested Carter with a 25 yard free-kick and his namesake Ian shot wide from a tight angle following a short corner.
The sucker-punch goal came as the game entered its final quarter. Nightingale fed Kennedy and, with the Stones defence appealing for offside, the player ran on unopposed to competently beat the exposed Carter.
As Wealdstone drove on, now only for an equaliser, their passing became more erratic, but still the Histon goal led a charmed life. Vowden’s clearance from inside his own six yard box following a corner hit Danny Wolf and could have gone anywhere. With everybody flat-footed, the ball rolled agonisingly just wide of the post.
Ten minutes from time Histon made the game as good as safe with a second goal. A long ball out of defence found Kennedy sprinting clear, eventually to square the ball giving Ian Cambridge the simplest of tap ins at the far post.
In desperation Wealdstone battled on and, to complete an immensely frustrating afternoon for them, Burrell’s 20 yarder smacked the bar in the closing moments.
So it is Histon who will now play Shrewsbury Town in the first round and all connected with Wealdstone are left scratching their heads and wondering how.
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