Wealdstone have sealed their place in the Second Round Qualifying of The FA Trophy.
By David Barber. Wednesday, 24 October 2007.
Wealdstone 2-1 Leighton Town
FA Carlsberg Trophy
First Round Qualifying Replay
Tuesday, 23 October 2007
Chestnut Avenue, Northwood FC
Winning clubs receive £1500
Click here for Second Round Qualifying Fixtures
Lee O'Leary's header two minutes before full time took Wealdstone through to the next round of The FA Trophy at Chestnut Avenue last night. With both Wealdstone and Leighton Town in FA Cup action on Saturday, neither team would have been keen to play an extra half-hour.
Stones, Trophy winners at the old Wembley in 1985, will now play at Woodford United in the Second Round Qualifying on 3 November. They seem to have turned the corner after an indifferent start to the campaign, having now lost just one of their last eight matches in all competitions.
They are still at the wrong end of the Ryman Premier but will be encouraged by last night's battling replay victory against a side lying third in the British Gas Business League's Midlands Division. Stones even had to play with ten men for more than 20 minutes following Stephen Hughes' dismissal.
Scoring chances were few and far between in a fairly nondescript first half. For the visitors, Sean Synnott's 25-yarder and Gavin Jaggard's clever turn and shot inside the box were all that troubled home 'keeper Sean Thomas for 43 minutes. Leighton's backline remained solid against the thrusts of Ben Alexander and Dean Papali, although the latter went close with a back-header that missed the far post by inches.
Two minutes from half-time Jaggard was impeded as he stretched for a low cross from the right and referee Downey pointed to the spot. Bruce Wilson struck his successful penalty with such force that part of the net came away from the angle of post and bar, a problem quickly rectified by home officials.
Stones, who could count themselves unlucky to be in arrears, attacked with greater vigour from the start of the second period and an equaliser seemed inevitable. It was substitute Hughes, who managed it on 62 minutes. A deflected cross left him with a yard of space inside the box and he prodded gleefully past Nigel Maarman. But about ten minutes later, the scorer saw a second yellow after a reckless lunge at Liam Howley.
Both teams upped the tempo in a desperate bid to avoid extra-time and there were clear chances at both ends. Graeme Montgomery, a fleet-footed left-winger, set up the late winner with a superb sprint down the touchline. As two Leighton defenders rushed over to close him down, he fired over a pin-point cross to the far post that O'Leary headed down and then up into the roof of the net.
Attendance: 139