Heavy win for Bishop's Stortford over Marlow.
Bishop's Stortford 7-1 Marlow
The FA Youth Cup, sponsored by E.ON
First Round Proper
7.30pm, Wednesday 4 November
Woodside Park, Bishop's Stortford FC
Click here for results Bishop's Stortford will travel to MK Dons in the Second Round Proper of The FA Youth Cup, after a dominant display against Marlow on Wednesday evening.
The Woodside Park team never looked back after George Wappett had given them the lead after jut 20 seconds, and could easily have been six up by half-time.
Aside from a 20 minute spell at the start of the second half, Ray Greenwood’s side completely controlled the game as the club reached the Second Round Proper of the competition for the first time. The game had barely started when Wappett latched on Chris Sargent’s ball out of defence and cut in from the left before slotting past Oliver Atkins in the visitors’ goal.
Wappett went close with a long-range effort before Bert Greenwood was tested for the only time in the first half, saving from Nigel Mpofu.
That proved to be only temporary respite for the visitors as Francis Adu-Boadu hit the bar with a header from a corner before Stortford made it 2-0 in the 16th minute.
A long ball from the back found Dan Godfrey in acres of space, and he sent a cheeky header over the despairing Atkins.
Wappett continued to torment the Marlow defence, with Atkins doing well to turn his 18th minute shot around a post, but Stortford doubled their lead just after the half hour mark when Sheldon Sellars cut down the right and waltzed past three defenders before firing home from an acute angle.
Sellars twice went close to killing the game off in the final two minutes of the half, seeing an effort disallowed for offside before hitting the bar with a curing 20 yard shot which had Atkins beaten.
Whatever Marlow boss Ken Morgan said at half-time had the desired effect, as the visitors pulled a goal back within two minutes of the restart, Darren Rockell deflecting a corner past Greenwood.
The goal clearly lifted the Berkshire side, and the fluid football that Stortford had played throughout the first half disappeared. Wappett and Sellars saw long range effort saved and go over respectively, while at the other end Greenwood saved a Mpofu free kick with his feet.
Clearly the next goal was going to be crucial, and it came as a gift for Blues in the 79th minute when Marlow defender JJ Lofthouse-Smth sliced a 20 yard effort past his own keeper to put the home side 4-1 ahead.
Seven minutes later, it was all over when Sellars’ corner found Ted Llewellyn with his back to the goal, and the defender turned and fired into the corner
Stortford substitute Elliot King had the final say as he netted the sixth in the 84th minute with a deft lob over Atkins before wrapping up the scoring three minutes later with a well-struck effort.
There was still time for Marlow’s James Burrell – one of three visiting players to have been booked - to receive his marching orders after collecting a second yellow card for a late tackle on Abu Suma, but there was nothing the visitors could do to take the gloss off Stortford’s moment of glory.
Bishop's Stortford: B Greenwood, A Suma, T Llewellyn, D Godfrey, C Sargent, C Burgess, S Sellars, H Craston (M Robinson), G Wappett, F Adu-Boadu (E King), T Querry (C Moses).
Substitute not used: P Wavell.
Marlow: O Atkins, E Keeble (W Durkin), JJ Lofthouse-Smith, J Walters, D Rockell (B Lutteman), H Pritchard, J Burrell, S Jones, M Mealing, N Mpofu, T Coleman (A Jansons).
Substitutes not used: L Griffith, B North.
Attendance: 121
