VCD Athletic 2-3 Bideford - We've missed a great chance to progress, admits Ford - EXCLUSIVE

VCD ATHLETIC 2-3 BIDEFORD
FA Carlsberg Vase Fifth Round
Saturday 17^th February 2007
Stephen McCartney reports from The Oakwood

A workmanlike performance from Western League side Bideford sent them through to a FA Carlsberg Vase quarter-final tie at Billingham Synthonia - leaving Martin Ford bitterly disappointed.

The VCD Athletic boss saw his Kent League side freeze in front of their largest crowd of the season as they fell at this stage for the second successive season.

Moments before kick-off, Ford wanted his side to have “no regrets” but two goals in the last seventeen minutes, scored by Leroy Huggins and Mark Greatorex, was never going to be enough in a game that they should have done better in.

Ford was urging on his side during the early exchanges but words of encouragement turned to anger towards the officials when Bideford scored a controversial opener inside the first nine minutes.

It was a scrappy goal to sum up a very dour first half. Ford felt the ball had gone out of play on the left hand side but Bideford captalised on their good fortune and moments later the ball fell to Robert Gough who slammed the ball into the top left hand corner from six-yards.

Vickers’ first and only chance of the first half arrived after 29 minutes when David Hunt nodded Gary Ward’s cross past the near post after Bideford dealt with Ashley Probets’ hanging cross from the left.

The second half, however, was a vast improvement and Bideford’s captain Ian Down skied a let-footed drive high over Grant Wallis’ bar inside the first three minutes of the second period.

Then, with 55 minutes on the clock, visiting goalkeeper Kenny Griffiths was called into action when he plucked the ball of midfielder Paul Foley’s head, after Vickers’ skipper nodded on Probets’ near-post corner.

But the Crayford side were left stunned when Bideford doubled their lead after 63 minutes.

A ball over the top left VCD’s longest serving player, Terry Barry in knots and this allowed Anthony Lynch to run onto the pass.

Lynch, on the right-hand side of the box, drilled a right-footed shot across Wallis and the ball bounced once before finding the bottom far corner.

With twenty minutes remaining, Ford made a double substitution in order to salvage something from the game.

This move, bringing on strikers Juan Ramirez and Richard Sinden, finally sparked the home side into life and Huggins scored his 12^th goal of the season - his sixth in his last three outings - just three minutes later.

Sinden and Hunt exchanged passes on the left hand side and after running down the channel, Sinden whipped a low cross into the penalty area and Huggins was on hand to turn the ball home from six-yards.

Wallis made a low save to prevent Lynch's shot across him creeping into the far corner and was relieved to see substitute Nick Bariter's left-footed over-head kick dropping just over his bar.

But any sign of a remarkable comeback was destroyed when Bideford scored their third goal with ten minutes remaining.

Gough’s angled drive found the bottom far corner after Lee Coburn was knocked over on the edge of the box following a shot from Gough.

Ford threw on substitute Stuart Abbott three minutes after the killer goal but it was going to be a very tall order for VCD.

VCD did, however, make it a grandstand finish, and pulled another goal back after 86 minutes as they piled men forward.

Probets, who picked up a hamstring injury, was unfit to take a corner so that was taken by Abbott.

His corner was flicked on by Huggins and Mark Greatorex drove his eight-yard shot through a crowded goalmouth into the left corner for his sixth goal of the campaign.

After five minutes of injury time and with his team-mates trudging off the pitch, Sinden was left with his head in his hands as his glaring costly glaring miss prevented the game going into extra-time.

Abbott’s far post corner was driven towards the far post where Sinden was standing and the striker side-footed the ball agonisingly over the crossbar from just two yards.

Abbott had the final chance of the game but his right-footed free-kick from 35-yards was never going to find the back of the net.

“I think we’ve gone out to a side today that was probably the poorest side we’ve played in the Vase and it’s a very disappointing way to go out,” Ford said EXCLUSIVELY to www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards.

“I just felt the referee and the officials got a few crucial decisions badly wrong today.

“I can’t take nothing away from the lads, they had a right go, a right battle. I thought we were the better side today but it’s about chances and a little bit of luck in the cups and we certainly didn’t have that luck today.

“It desert us with the decisions the officials made and we just left it too late, I felt today.”

Ford was left with his head in his hands as he saw Sinden miss a golden opportunity to take the tie into extra time.

“Richard’s disappointed,” he revealed. “He’s a proven goalscorer at the club. He’s been a little bit frustrated with the starts I’ve given him this year but Danny Penny and Leroy (Huggins) have done so well up front.

“He came on today, he looked nice and fresh, put a cross in for our first goal and there it was for him at the end - two yards out, open goal and he’s side footed it over with no-one in front of him.

“I really felt if we could have got level with them today or a goal in front they would never lived with us today and I don’t think we’ll ever get a better chance to progress further in the Vase than what we had today. I thought Bideford were a very poor side.”

Having disposed of Tunbridge Wells, Wisbech Town and West Auckland Town in the previous rounds, Ford added: “We beat a very good side in West Auckland and gone out to a very poor side in Bideford.

“But we certainly gave it a good crack but we’ve gone out to a side today that I don’t think we’ll go any further in the competition.”