After a run of 6 games undefeated during which time Mossley have advanced to the 4th qualifying round of the FA Cup, attention turned to rural Leicestershire and the FA Trophy. Mossley had needed a replay to beat Kidsgrove in the previous round whilst Shepshed had defeated Warrington Town.

The grass on the ‘butt hole lane’ surface was longer than the visitors would’ve liked however this did not stop Mossley starting the game brightly and creating numerous chances playing some excellent football. It was a surprise it took Mossley as long as 10 minutes to take the lead, Lee Blackshaw and Michael Oates firing over when well placed in the hosts penalty area following fluent moves down the right. When the goal did come it was simple in its construction, Aaron Chalmers splitting the static home backline with a precise pass allowing Michael Fish to coolly lob the ball over the advancing Gavin Saxby. Fish then had two further chances to extend the lead, first heading over from an excellent Michael Oates cross and then a shot across Saxby following great work from Blackshaw which veered just wide.

Mossley began to dominate the game and almost moved further in front on 25 minutes when influential midfielder Chris Rowney burst through following a mix up in defence and audaciously chipped the helpless home custodian only to watch agonisingly on as the ball dropped onto the crossbar and over for a goal kick. Shepshed were to have no further let offs 2 minutes later. Daryl Weston showed great composure in his own penalty area following a rare home attack, releasing Steve Settle down the right hand side, after cutting inside one defender and then past 2 more Settle found himself clean through on goal and he made no mistake lifting the ball over the keeper to make it 0-2.

Ben Richardson and Settle were finding some joy down the right and 5 minutes later the game was effectively over as a contest. Richardson played a one-two with Settle before sending a dangerous ball into the Shepshed area, Oates on hand to score his 7th goal in 7 games from 12 yards following a mis-cued clearance.

Shepshed made a change trying to stem the Mossley onslaught but it was only wayward finishing that stopped the rampant Lillywhites extending their advantage further. Blackshaw, Fish and Oates all seeing efforts fly just off target.

One minute prior to the break Shepshed gave their faint hopes of progressing to the next round a boost. There seemed to be little danger as Lheureux Menga chased a hopeful ball forward but a defensive mix-up involving Chalmers and Mossley stopper Pete Collinge allowed Menga the time he needed to finish from an acute angle. The teams departed the field at the break with the scoreline undoubtedly flattering the hosts. Indeed they could not have been aggrieved had Mossley left for the interval 6 or 7 goals to the good.

It was clear that Shepshed had received the ‘hair dryer’ treatment at half time however this manifested itself on the pitch with a host of late, needless tackles designed to try and ‘rough up’ the Mossley players. The 2nd half followed a similar pattern to the first, with only missed chances stopping the Lillywhites putting the game to bed. So, after some good chances not taken, the 137 spectators had to wait until the 83rd minute for further developments to the scoreline. Fish scoring his 2nd and Mossleys 4th with an excellent individual goal, cutting inside a defender with a brilliant 1st touch before curling a looping effort over Saxby from 25 yards. Despite a couple of late chances for the hosts the game was never in doubt and the final whistle heralded Mossleys 2nd 4-1 victory in as many games and sent the travelling fans home happy, not to mention boosting the coffers with some welcome prize money.

Report by Steve Settle