Barwell 0-2 Welling United - We hope to get into that magical FA Cup Third Round, says Welling United boss Loui Fazakerley

Barwell 0 – 2 Welling United
Location	Kirkby Road Sports Ground, Kirkby Road, Barwell, Leicestershire LE9 8GQ
Kickoff	07/11/2015 15:00

BARWELL  0-2  WELLING UNITED
The FA Cup First Round (sponsored by Emirates)
Saturday 7^th November 2015
Stephen McCartney reports from Kirkby Road

WELLING UNITED manager Loui Fazakerley says he is dedicating their FA Cup First Round victory over Barwell to director George Evans who sadly passed away last Tuesday.

The Wings progressed through to the Second Round for the fourth time in their history after picking up the banana skin and disposing it in a professional manner in Leicestershire.

Barwell, who went into the game sitting in fifteenth-place in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League, the same division as Salford City, who shocked League Two side Notts County with a famous 2-0 victory last night, were making their First Round debut.

Jimmy Ginnelly’s Canaries began their FA Cup campaign in the First Qualifying Round thrashing Westfields (4-1) at home, and knocked out Cogenhoe United (5-0), King’s Lynn Town (1-0) on home soil before being held to a 2-2 draw at home to AFC Rushden & Diamonds before winning the replay 1-0 in Wellingborough.

Barwell have scooped £27,500 in FA prize money.

Welling United, sitting in eighteenth-place in the Vanarama National League table, needed a replay to beat Ryman Premier Leaguers Grays Athletic in the Fourth Qualifying Round. 

Sam Corne rescued The Wings by salvaging a 1-1 draw at Aveley’s Mill Field ground, before Xavier Vidal scored all four goals in a 4-0 win at Park View Road.

Barwell went into the game on the back of a 6-1 defeat at Leamington in The FA Trophy First Qualifying Round, while Welling United went down to a 2-0 league defeat at Guiseley.

Fazakerley, who made six enforced changes to the side that lost their ninth league game of the season, was delighted with his side to get through this tricky tie.

Barwell, in true underdog spirit, took the game to Welling United early on, but Welling United skipper Ricky Wellard settled any nerves to give the Kent side the lead.

Michael Bakare came off the bench to seal Welling United’s passage with his first goal of the season with virtually the last kick of the game.

“Very good day. The result was all that mattered. We knew it was going to be tough and it was, very tough,” said Fazakerley in the post-match press conference.

“The conditions were very difficult. We had the wind against us and then we also had the sun as well. The sun was an aspect. It played its part in the first half.

“Just happy to win, happy to get through. We knew it would be tough.”

Barwell’s largest crowd of the season of 843 flocked through the turnstiles at Kirkby Road sensing to make their First Round debut a memorable one, for a club that were formed in 1992.

The Canaries were almost celebrating taking the lead inside the opening six minutes following their second corner of the game.

Alex Tomkinson, who was lively during the first half causing Barney Williams all kinds of problems with his pace down the left flank, swung a free-kick out to the edge of the penalty area which was headed into Michael McEntegart’s grateful hands by Iyseden Christie.

Tomkinson swung in his third corner of the game from the left in the 15^th minute, which McEntegart punched away and the ball came out to Scott Lower who sliced his shot harmlessly wide of the right-hand post from 30-yards after being given a chance to shoot by Reece Harris.

Welling United’s opening chance arrived soon after but the ball didn’t fall kindly for the recalled George Porter, who worked tirelessly as the lone striker.

Ben Jefford clipped a free-kick into the penalty area from the halfway line and Wellard headed the ball back across goal and Porter couldn’t get the ball out from underneath his feet some eight-yards from goal and Barwell cleared their lines.

With fireworks being set-off up towards a sunny Leicestershire sky from a neighbouring garden, this really was Barwell’s big day.

“We knew they were going to (take the game to us),” said Fazakerley.

“I’m sure they were spurred on by the result last night, Salford (City) beating Notts County, League opposition.

“We knew it was going to be tough and it was. They didn’t surprise us. We expected it. We did well to weather it.”

But Welling United went close to spoiling the party spirit after 18 minutes.

Vidal released Porter down the right and he broke free of Barwell’s defence and was to be denied by the advancing Barwell keeper Liam Castle.  The ball ran loose to Harris, whose low shot was brilliantly blocked by last defender Liam Kay.

Fazakerley said: “It was a good first save and it was a good block but we should’ve scored both attempts.

“George possibly should’ve hit the net and Reece possibly should’ve hit the net.

“A great ball from Xavier to get George in, in the first place, so disappointed not to score with that.”

Barwell were dangerous down the left and Kay fed the ball to Tomkinson, who raced down the line and played Eddie Nisevic on the overlap. 

The left-back cut into the penalty area and his low centre was smashed wide of the near post by the onrushing 10-goal striker Anthony Carney.

Welling United, who at this stage weren’t playing at their best, were forced to shoot from 25-yards when Williams played the ball inside to Corne, who was given time and space to arrow his right-footed drive over the bar.

Welling United settled their nerves by scoring against the run of play with 33:09 on the clock, following a neat move down the right.

Williams threw the ball to Corne, who fed the ball into Vidal’s feet and a short pass put Porter in behind the Barwell defence.

Porter’s low shot trickled across goalkeeper Castle and agonisingly clipped the inside of the far post and rolled along the goal-line.  Porter, though, kept his composure when he got a second bite of the cherry and from the right by-line he cut the ball back to Wellard, who swept his right-footed shot past a defender on the line into the back of the net.

“George led the line well for us, we knew he would, that’s why we put him in there,” said Fazakerley.

“It’s good to have him back!

“He possibly should’ve finished the first one as well but Rick got himself in the box and we tell him we need him to make the box, it’s important he makes the box when he plays in that number 10 role and he did, so happy for him to get the goal.

“It was always important to get the first goal,” before adding, “It was even more important to get the second goal later on!”

But Welling United grew in confidence and were far comfortable after the former Sutton United midfielder scored his second goal for the club.

Fazakerley felt his side should have been awarded a penalty.

Harris raced down the left and cut inside and cut the ball back for Porter to sweep the ball into the net, only for his legs to be taken away by Barwell’s central defender Declan Towers, as Barwell got bodies back behind the ball.

“We saw it because we’re looking at the ball,” said the Welling United manager.

“We’re looking at our players runs but the referee said he was looking at the ball and he missed any contact – if there was any.

“You can understand our frustrations because it would’ve been a big moment in the game.”

Fazakerley was relieved to go into the break in the lead.

He said: “Massive relief because you can get a little bit more comfortable then. Until that point you’re always a little bit worried because they can always pull off one bit of magic or the ball can fall their way and it almost did a couple of times.

“We said to them the elements were against us and it was a tough half of football. We had our backs against the wall for a period of time so we did well to deal with those and we knew it would change in the second half because we’re shooting in the opposite direction but knowing our luck the wind died down so it wasn’t much of a factor as it was in the first half.

“We told them just to continue playing on the front foot and put our foot on the ball and make the most of that midfield overload and I thought we did that in parts.”

Barwell created the first chance of the second half inside the opening three minutes.

They produced a slick move outside the penalty area involving Carney, Brady Hickey and Christie, who laid the ball out to unmarked Tomkinson, who could see the headlines in front of his eyes but Corne made a great penalty-box block to save the day for Welling United.

Vidal swung in a free-kick from the left into the Barwell penalty area and the ball was cleared out to Joey Taylor, who drilled his first time left-footed shot just past the right-hand post from 25-yards.

But Barwell squandered their best chance of the game in the 53^rd minute.

Central midfielder Callum Woodward floated in an inch-perfect free-kick towards the far post, which caused havoc inside the six-yard box for McEntegart and his defenders and dropped down at Kay’s feet, who produced a central defender’s finish, blasting his right-footed shot over the crossbar from four-yards.

Fazakerley admitted: “If there’s anyone you wanted it to fall to, I guess it’s the number four, centre half!

“That was a scare, that was a scare. We got away with it!”

Welling United hit Barwell on the break five minutes later as central midfielder Wellard released Harris down the left. He cut into the penalty area and centred low for Porter to poke his shot past the foot of the near post.

Welling United were given a warning when Carney bulldozed his way through the middle but he couldn’t get the ball out from underneath his feet and McEntegart moved to his left to grab hold of the bouncing ball.

Welling United should have killed the game off, following another sublime defensive splitting pass by Wellard.

He put Harris through the heart of Barwell’s defence and the winger opted to produce a woeful right-footed chip which was comfortably caught by the advancing Castle, who signed for the club in 2006.

“I don’t know if you can call it a chip,” admitted Fazakerley.

“It was very frustrating. He could’ve done many different things. He could’ve gone around the goalkeeper, he could’ve slotted it underneath him, but he decided to try a chip, which obviously didn’t come off, so I was just frustrated we didn’t take advantage of those opportunities.

“That’s always the case when you miss chances, you always wonder if they’re going to cost you!”

Castle made a smart low save to prevent Vidal powering a low shot into the corner for his eighth goal of the season.

Barwell had penalty claims of their own turned down by referee Stephen Rushton in the 73^rd minute when Carney went down following a nudge from Williams close to the by-line.

In true FA Cup fighting spirit, Barwell threw everything at Welling United as the game edged into the final ten minutes, but Fazakerley said he was delighted with his players’ resilience at the back as they soaked up the pressure.

He said: “We told them to expect a barrage of long balls and a lot of pressure and they managed to hold out. We got a clean sheet from it so very happy with that. The boys defended very well.”

Corne picked up his fifth yellow card of the season – and will miss Tuesday night’s home game against league leaders Forest Green Rovers – and Tomkinson wasted the chance by hitting his resulting free-kick over the bar from 30-yards.

Barwell substitute Daniel Gaunt progressed down the left before cutting the ball back to Nisevic, who floated in a cross into the penalty area for skipper Richard Lavery to plant his header straight at McEntegart from 12-yards.

Gaunt then put in a cross from the left for fellow substitute Jamie Towers to have his looping header drop into McEntegart’s hands.

The home fans got behind their side as the board for five additional minutes went up – but Welling United were celebrating their progress into the Second Round when they scored their second with 50:33 on the clock.

Wellard, who was inside Barwell’s half of the field, swept the ball through to put Bakare through on goal – an out-of-position Barwell defender was keeping him onside on the other side of the pitch.

Bakare’s initial shot was parried by keeper Castle, but the striker slotted his left-footed shot into the back of the net to the delight of the travelling supporters behind the goal.

“That was a relief,” admitted Fazakerley.

“Rick’s played a nice ball in behind, loads of space and Mike has had a lot of time and once again he possibly should’ve finished that first opportunity but he managed to finish off the follow up, so pleased, very pleased.

“Happy for Baks. He’s come on. He should’ve scored at the first attempt but he got there in the end.”

Barwell deserved their standing ovation at the final whistle as their biggest game ended in disappointment but Welling United will be ball number 23 in Monday’s FA Cup Second Round Draw.

“It’s the first time me, Matt and Paul (Matt McEntegart and Paul Barnes) have been involved in The FA Cup as part of a management team so it’s always nice to win games and progress and we’re looking forward to the draw on Monday.

“There’s no secret that The FA Cup is a financial boost for the clubs so we’re just happy we can do our part on that front and we’ll look forward to progressing further,” after raising their prize money to £30,500.

"We're due one (a home tie), that's for sure, so hopefully we get one on Monday.

“We hope to get into that magical Third Round so we can sit down and enjoy the tie rather than having to worry about replays as we did in the last round.”

Fazakerley finished by paying tribute to the sad passing of a club director, who passed away aged 74 and was instrumental in driving forward the ground improvements at Park View Road in recent years.

“We spoke to the lads before the game and we dedicated the performance and we dedicate this win to George Evans.

“He was such a great man. He used to help us so much off-the-field and support us while we were on the field.

“He was there every Friday at training. The boys were very emotional when they heard the news but they’re happy we can get the win today and we can dedicate it to George.”

Barwell: Liam Castle, Scott Lower, Eddie Nisevic, Liam Kay, Declan Thomas, Richard Lavery, Alex Tomkinson, Callum Woodward (Daniel Gaunt 70), Iyseden Christie (Jamie Towers 59), Brady Hickey (Dominic Brennan 79).
Subs: Jack Hartopp, Jordan Wakeling, Blaise Punter, Guy Hardland

Booked: Richard Lavery 51, Declan Towers 55, Daniel Gaunt 90

Welling United: Michael McEntegart, Barney Williams , Ben Jefford, Joey Taylor, Kevin Lokko, Michael Chambers, Reece Harris, Sam Corne, George Porter, Ricky Wellard, Xavier Vidal (Michael Bakare 72).
Subs: Harry Osborne, Sahr Kabba, Roberto Gagliardi, Tashan Adeyinka, Kurtis Cumberbatch, Afolabi Obafemi

Goals: Ricky Wellard 34, Michael Bakare 90

Booked: Sam Corne 77, George Porter 85

Attendance: 843
Referee: Mr Stephen Rushton
Assistants: Mr Thomas Harty & Mr Grant Taylor
Fourth Official: Mr Oliver Bickle