Mossley saw off the challenge of Lower Breck in Tuesday's Seel Park Emirates FA Cup replay but the game ended in chaotic scenes following Mossley's 90th minute second goal.
What promised to be a great FA Cup night under the Seel Park lights was completely ruined by the events that followed Mossley’s 90th minute second goal which led to the abandonment of the game with literally seconds remaining.
The evening had begun badly for Mossley with Kane Hickman limping out of the warm ups and a late change to the team sheet saw Harry Pratt come in as his replacement with Mason Fawns dropping to a deeper midfield role.
It didn’t go well for Fawns either as he came off with a head injury following an accidental collision before half time.
The game itself was passionately contested. Mossley had justifiable complaint when Harry Pratt was heavily challenged when charging forward but despite the assistant’s frantic flag waving the referee simply ignored the incident and played on with Pratt still prostrated, not calling a halt until Mossley had a clear overload on a counter attack moments later. That lack of a decision was the catalyst for a number of none decisions that followed throughout the remainder of the game.
As for the football, it was tense, edgy, neither side giving an inch, but it was Mossley who found the opening goal moments before the break.
Mossley won a left wing corner and skipper Andy Keogh attacked the front post to glance home a deft header beyond the stranded visitors defence.
After the break the visitors threw the proverbial ‘kitchen sink’ at Mossley but the Lilywhites were superb in defence, with Dec Evans and his defensive cohorts in no mood to concede anything and ably backed up by the impeccable handling of keeper Dale Latham, the visitors could find few openings.
As the game reached it’s later stages, Lower Breck’s efforts on goal became wilder and more frantic, with shots flying over the park end stand, while Mossley were a serious threat on the counter. Brown and Pratt both going close to doubling the lead before the fateful last minute incident that ruined everyone’s evening.
Mossley won a right wing corner as the game entered it’s 90th minute. Jordan Butterworth’s flag kick was perfectly met at the far post by the inrushing Dec Evans who planted a firm header into the roof of the net sparking ecstatic scenes which were curtailed seconds later by what followed.
Clearly angered by something that had happened behind his goal, the visiting keeper decided to take matters into his own hands and appeared to attempt to climb into the crowd of youths who were congregated behind the school end goal. What was alleged to have happened thereafter is not the job of this match report except to say that the game didn’t resume after the goal as the referee abandoned it with only moments of the 90 minutes remaining.
The outcome from those bizarre events will no doubt be decided by the Football Association based on reports by the referee and both clubs.
Postscript: Following an investigation into the incidents that occurred during our FA Cup tie with Lower Breck, we have been informed that the score at the time of the abandonment in the 89th minute stands as the result of the match. This means we progress to the First Round Qualifying and will host Newton Aycliffe on Saturday 4th September 2021.
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