Padiham beat St.Helens by an odd goal in seven.
Padiham 4-3 St Helens Town
The FA Vase, sponsored by Carlsberg
First Round Qualifying
3pm, Saturday 4 September
Arbories Memorial Sports Ground, Padiham
Winning clubs receive £800
Click here for results
Contrasts contributed to the theme of the day in East Lancashire as Padiham narrowly progressed to the next round of The FA Vase against a battling St Helens side. Both sides gave their best impressions of Jekyll and Hyde on an afternoon that saw seven goals shared and the game's momentum shift as often as the ominous overlooking clouds.
The 109 attendees at the Arbories Memorial Sports ground had barely finished deliberating whether to brave the uncovered grassy bank as their vantage point or head for the shelter under the main stand when the home side had taken the lead.
No more than a gentle drizzle resided at kick-off when St Helen’s Mark Evans morale was drenched barely seconds into the game. The left-back’s ponderous indecision inviting Padiham’s Lee Morris to open the scoring. Attempting to play the ball square across the back four, Evans succeeded only in an incisive through pass to the opposition, leaving a delighted Lee Morris to gleefully dance into the visitor's penalty area and finish with aplomb. The smile painted on the Padiham number nine's face equated to walking out of the front door and picking up a twenty pound note.
The value of the home side’s lead doubled nearly as quickly as it was created. Rewarded for their incessant desire to press and harry but also demonstrating a penchant for pass and move the Lancashire side were two up inside eight minutes. St Helen’s frustration led to conceding a free-kick twenty yards from goal which was duly dispatched with an air of calm by Padiham’s left-back Brian Walsh.
Jekyll then showed his first glimpse of his alter-ego Hyde; a story which was to reoccur as the afternoon progressed. With the exceptions of a few shots from distance, Padiham had portrayed a mask of assurance until a defensive lapse exposed the fragile interior decorated by such a confident opening act. Confusion reigned in the home side’s penalty area; goalkeeper Sean Davis and skipper Paul Walker pressured into conceding an own goal after a bout of ricocheting.
Buoyed by this whiff of Padiham indecision, St Helens grew in confidence as both sides enjoyed the luxury of vast open space in midfield. Presenting players with time and space and having the tools to fully exploit it requires a certain mastery. A skill which Padiham’s front pairing of Lee Morris and debutant Michael Morrison demonstrated with panache; taking in turns to drop into pockets of space to receive the ball at their feet, one fed the other creating a seemingly continuous route through the visitors backline.
Morrison, recently signed from Clitheroe, capped a fine first half display adding the finishing touch to Stuart Telfon’s cross as Howarth’s side retired for their half time cup of tea in a commanding position.
Sunshine beamed down the slope into the Padiham half from the outset of the second period and the sun, like the home side, rarely left that territory for most of the second period. Gary Bickerstaffe's St Helens side, outthought and outfought in the first period, transformed their own footballing personality in the second half, adopting the persona of the dominant home side.
Town winger Phillip Mitchell demonstrated perfectly the visitor’s rejuvenation. After a relatively quiet first half, the left winger took the leading role in the second act of the day. Drifting effortlessly from his perch on the left wing, the diminutive winger posed a glut of problems for the now desperately defending home side.
With the Padiham resistance crumbling, it was a matter of when rather than if the visitors would score. Mitchell proved the tormentor; his mazy dribble culminating in a crash of bodies to the floor inside the penalty box. The deservedness of the spot kick may have been inconclusive but the worthiness of the resulting lifeline after Dyson’s assured penalty, unquestionable.
With the momentum in their favour the away side were expected to use Dyson’s goal as a platform for a memorable come back. But on an unpredictable afternoon it was Padiham who, against the run of play, scored to put the game, almost, out of sight. On a rare foray to the other end of the field central defender Craig Williamson showed his adeptness in the opposite penalty area, showing a finishing instinct usually reserved for those in the striking department, dispatching a loose ball from a corner with ease.
In a game of this nature it was no surprise that there was still time for the balance to shift and slide again. By now neither side knew whether they should have been playing the part of Jekyll or Hyde. St Helens substitute Michael Scully poked home after home keeper Davis saved from Mitchell; leaving only enough time for more penalty claims, two disallowed goals and further shifts in the weather. A day of opposites and contrasts which left Padiham manager Graham Haworth looking forward to what the competition may hold for the Lancashire side;
“If you look at Glossop who went all the way to The Final last year, that’s what you’ve got to be aiming for. We’ve got Chadderton or Formby in the next round, so hopefully it’s an incentive to go on and do well in the competition.”
Padiham1 Sean Davis, 2 Adam Lee, 3 Brian Walsh, 4 Paul Walker (c), 5 Craig Williamson, 6 Martin Perkes, 7 Damien Morrison, 8 Nehru Mckenzie, 9 Michael Morrison, 10 Lee Morris, 11 Stuart Telfon
Subs: 12 Anthony Taylor, 14 Michael Holt, 15 Andrew Haworth, 16 Benjamin Stanfield, 17 Christopher Ridehalgh
St Helens Town1 Graham McCall, 2 Douglas Pitts, 3 Mark Evans, 4 Stephen Kay, 5 Christopher Burke, 6 Marc Stephens, 7 Iain Dyson (c), 8 Karl Ledsham, 9 Robert Hanley, 10 Graeme Mitchell, 11 Phillip Mitchell
Subs: 12 Ian Frazer, 14 Nicholas Mcloughlin, 15 John Elias, 16 Michael Scully, GK Kevin Woods
Attendance: 109