Cirencester Town FC
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Cirencester Town FC
The home of football, corporate events, courses and celebrations
Click photo to view a slideshow of photos from the match
Courtesy of Steve Rolfe Photography
Match Report reproduced by kind permission of Danny Hall – Sports Editor of The Wilts & Glos Standard newspaper.
CIRENCESTER TOWN caused one of the shocks of the round by beating Evesham United 3-2 on Sunday after a display of gritty determination and no little skill.
To do so after going a goal behind early in the second half was all the more meritorious.
After the latest pruning of his squad, Charlie Griffin’s Town have been stringing together some more consistent performances, starting with the 3-0 win away at Paulton Rovers, coincidentally the next port of call for Cirencester in this competition.
But scoring three goals away at tougher opposition like big-spending Evesham was a performance on another level.
In a cup tie that had a sleepy Sunday feel for much of the first half, Town more than held their own, indeed they created the clearer chances in the opening 45 minutes.
In the 12th minute, former Ciren keeper Kev Sawyer, trying to play the ball out from the back, under-hit his pass; Henry Spalding pounced on the attempted clearance and found Ben Whitehead at the near post but Sawyer redeemed himself by smothering the striker’s shot wide.
Sawyer did well to tip away a fierce Whitehead volley six minutes later when the No.9 was for once able to shrug off the impressive Matt Williams to reach a long Matt Wieczorek kick out.
Williams then had to resort to pulling back Whitehead in the box after the industrious Jack Horrell had slipped a ball through to the striker, but the ref waved away penalty appeals.
Evesham at last woke up and finished the half the stronger with near-misses for Adam Mann, Paul Fahy and Greg Peel.
Cirencester could count themselves unlucky to go a goal down in the 52nd minute, having started the second half on the front foot, but it was a delightful goal.
Ciren failed to stop Fahy’s cross from the left, the lofty Peel chested the ball back to Lewis Powell lurking on the edge of the box and his sweet half volley did the rest.
Whitehead got the equaliser his all-round work rate deserved in the 66th minute when arrowing a firm left foot drive through a crowd of players and in off Sawyer’s right hand post.
Evesham rallied and the normally influential Bradley Gray, who had been quiet in the first half, was allowed the room to fire in a number of pinpoint crosses after the break, which occasionally unsettled the Ciren defence.
Then Matt Jones was in the right place to clear an Adam Mann shot off the line in the 72nd minute.
However, the game turned with two goals in 90 seconds from the hard-working Aidan Bennett who, following the club exits of Felipe Barcelos and Jack Watts, was restored to his best position on the wide right of midfield.
Bennett is never shy of trying his luck from distance but a perhaps unsighted Sawyer dived over the midfielder’s fizzing drive in the 76th minute.
Soon after the restart Bennett drove into the box and was tripped, but in the ensuing challenge – and before the ref could whistle for a penalty – the ball ricocheted past Sawyer to put Ciren 3-1 ahead.
Ciren were seeing out the game well – apart from a legitimate shout for a penalty when Jordan Stoddart handled in the box – before Powell gave the visiting fans late palpitations with a 90th-minute looping header.
But it was Ciren who made it across the line and can look forward to at least a £3000 cheque from the FA.
Attendance: 236
Referee: Mr Jack Shepherd
Cirencester Town:
Wieczorek, Christopher, Jones, Mortimer-Jones (Pook, 64), Stoddart, Lewis, Spalding, Connolly (capt.), Whitehead, Horrell, Bennett.
Unused subs: Walsh, Coupe.
Evesham United:
Kevin Sawyer, Linden Dovey (capt.), Leroy Odiero, Archie Haskayne (Carl Brown 46), Matt Williams, Matthew Liddiard, Bradley Gray, Adam Mann, Greg Peel (Lorcan Sheehan 57), Lewis Powell, Paul Fahy (Lewis Binns 80),
Unused subs: Ashley Williams, Jordan Bryan.