BUGBROOKE ST MICHAELS 2-3 HINCKLEY LEICESTER ROAD: THE MATCH REPORT & MORE IMAGES...

 Deserving Leicester Road Overcome Foraging Badgers…

Bugbrooke St Michaels 2-3 Hinckley Leicester Road

(FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round)

The Mowdog’s thoughts…

On a wet and slick grassy surface, Northern Premier League Midland Division Hinckley LR certainly deserved to beat heir plucky hosts from the UCL but the Badgers fought tooth and jaw until the end of the tie.

Going behind to Liam Read’s smart strike, the hosts scored twice before the break to go into the second period leading but as the wind strengthened and the rain returned to Bugbrooke, after relenting during the opening half, the visitors’ strength and knowhow overcame the hosts. Indeed, the only home threat during the second 45 was a close range effort by industrious midfielder Dan Porter, which was saved by the legs of LR’s ‘keeper Will Highland.

The referee clearly found handling the tie difficult and several players were cautioned, whilst both sets of players became frustrated with some of the decision making.

An unpleasant moment between home skipper Tom Smyth and LR’s forward Tendai Daire resulted in a skirmish and a smack on the nose for Smythe, whose injury led to him being replaced, which hindered the Badgers’ cause, there’s no doubt. Strangely, likely because the officials didn’t see the incident, the referee booked two other players who lunged into the scrap on the half-way line. Smyth lay hurt, Daire thought he should too…

However, despite the weather, the tie was lively and featured some notable individual performances.

The standouts…

In truth, home goalie Luke Reeve showed some calmness and sure handling, as well as making saves from Williams and late on from the sprightly Aaron Nuttall but he was also well shielded by central defender Tom Walton, aided and abetted by full-backs Joe Malkin, who had a real tussle with Nuttall, and Matt Bazeley.

Joel Powell was often effective in the home midfield and Aiden Webster made some fine defensive tackles and headers, whilst Porter bothered the LR playmakers. 

Eddie Panter caused problems on the offensive right for the Badgers and three times in the opening 45, LR were exposed on that flank. On one occasion the hosts scored from Panter’s positive running, which put his team 2-1 ahead.

Shad Reza (his name was Reeza on the team sheet, so I’m sorry for getting the name wrong during the commentary) was clever in possession on the Badgers’ left, being able to ghost smoothly past defenders at times, a contrast to LR’s Nuttall, whose danger came from his injections of pure pace. Both scored, interestingly…

Reza struck a free-kick, given for an unfortunate hand-ball by a Hinckley player into the LR defensive wall but again the official blew his whistle for a hand-ball, this time in the visitors’ blockade. From closer Reza shot through the wall from 25 yards but the ball skidded up off the turf and over the hands over the diving Highland into the bottom right corner of the net. 

That goal equalised Read’s effort, who had taken a forward pass from skipper Jarred Acton and calmly clipped a really neat and accurate shot from downtown over Reeve and the ball had dropped perfectly into the net. 

When Porter slipped Panter clear on the right, the forward turned inside, then outside, shooting low across the goalmouth but Acton’s sliding boot turned the ball into his own net to give the hosts an interval advantage.

Both LR full-backs showed good thrusts at times and Spencer Edwards worked hard to nullify Reza’s clever rushes, whilst Callum Earls had a low shot blocked on the goal-line by a combination of Smyth and Porter before half-time, then assisted with his team’s second goal later in the contest.

Williams looked quick and made a variety of positional runs for his team, whilst Dom Brennan held the midfield together, whilst taking the set-piece kicks too. He shot wide before the break and also saw Reeve catch his free-kick shot from 25 yards.

The Badgers’ first period chances… 

Following good work on the right by Panter, Maurice Alhassan drove wildly too high, whilst Panter himself drove over the target and had a low shot stopped by Highland but in all honesty, despite the occasional break, much of the time, the Badgers were on the defensive.

The Hinckley offense…

The only other unmentioned efforts at goal before the break for the guests were a Williams shot which Reeve caught and a glancing header by Daire which flew well wide. 

After the rest period, things changed for the visitors, as the rain and a more blustery wind aided them slightly, as well as establishing a general dominance. Brennan shot wide and Daire way too high, before Williams’ measured shot as Reeve advanced, rolled just wide of the right pole. Replacement Jordan Burrows shot just wide from distance, Williams’ angled effort was parried by Reeve and a hard shot by Humphreys took a slight deflection off Walton for a corner.

2-2 was achieved by the guests when a right-flank Brennan free-kick was headed back across goal by the leaping Humphreys for Earls to nod down towards goal but somehow, Porter and Reeve stopped the ball on the goal-line, only for Williams to feed on the scraps and shoot his team level.

Before Malkin blocked from Nuttall and Reeve parried a byeline delivery from the same player for a late corner, the impish LR winger won the tie for his team, getting into the 18 yard box onto a pass from midfielder Simon Alcott. The forward drew Reeve but shot against the foot of the left upright, only to respond by knocking the rebound into the net and in turn knocking the Badgers out of the FA Cup…

The final words…

Thanks to Bugbrooke for fine welcome but it was a pity that the weather was so inclement on the day.

The hosts gave all they had but it really did seem only a matter of time before LR snatched a winner and I guess the right player scored it, despite playing a one-two against a post first…

The second period weather was unpleasant but subsequently I was constantly able to wipe the rain from the camera lens and pleasingly, the video clips seemed to come out OK…

Images...

DAIRE STAYS DOWN...

INTERESTING EXPRESSIONS...

LR UNHAPPY ABOUT THE SECOND FREE-KICK FOR HAND-BALL BEING AWARDED...

THE TOSS...

HEY, TOM... YOU SURE IT WASN'T THE REF WHO DAMAGED YOUR NOSE WITH HIS THRUSTING CARD?