It took nearly two hours of football for it to happen but a goal from Lilywhites leading scorer Matty Kay, in the last minute of extra-time, finally separated Mossley and Radcliffe in a closely fought Unibond League Cup encounter at Seel Park.

It's a victory, their first since the opening day of the campaign, that the home side couldn't be begrudged either as with a bit more composure in front of goal they probably would have had the game won comfortably in normal time.

For the first time this season Mossley were creating an abundance of chances but unfortunately the finishing touches weren't quite up to the same level as some of the moves they were stemming from.  Practically every attack minded player in the Lilywhites line-up had an effort that was either  saved by the keeper, flew narrowly past the woodwork or, as a diving header from Matty Kay did in the first half, crash against it.

That's not to say that the visitors didn't have any chances of their own – they did, just not quite as many as their hosts but exhibiting a similar lack of accuracy.

The same pattern of play continued into extra-time and despite a brief wobble in the immediate aftermath of  Danny Egan's dismissal for dissent, ten man Mossley continued to hold the upper hand but still that winning goal was proving elusive.

With the prospect of a penalty shoot-out looming large though, the number of players on the pitch was reduced by one more when Borough centre half Sean Connor was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Sam Walker.  The free kick resulting from the incident led to a corner and, in the 119th minute of the match, Karl Brown's delivery from the set-piece was met by Matty Kay; his powerful header from close range giving keeper Joe Brobbin little chance of stopping it and booking the Lilywhites a deserved place in the next round.

Report by SJNR

 

pics by Smiffy