Hanwell Town 1-3 Staines Town
FA Youth Cup sponsored by E.ON First Round Qualifying
Wednesday, 26 September 2007
Hanwell Town FC

Staines earned a Second Round Qualifying trip to Erith Town with this deserved win at Reynolds Field last night, but Hanwell were in with a shout until the last minute, when the visitors' skipper scrambled in a third clinching goal.

Hanwell were hit by a whirlwind in the first few minutes as Staines attacked at speed and in numbers. They had barely been out of their own half when Staines took a 13th-minute lead. The ball was transferred swiftly from right to left and Lyle Taylor had time in which to poke it gently past Hanwell 'keeper Ricardo Lopes as he rushed out to make a block.

Suddenly the home side made an impression, Lawrence Rispoli striking a low 30-yarder that Abi-Kristos Straker watched all the way and clutched to his chest on the line. Then Hanwell centre-forward Michael Anthony twice had the misfortune to hit a post with good efforts as they fought to get on level terms.

With the play much more even as half-time approached, Staines made it 2-0 on 43 minutes. Lopes couldn't hold a right-wing cross driven hard into the near-post area and Taylor nipped in to lift the bouncing ball into the net. The visitors looked the more likely to score in the second period, and surely put the game beyond Hanwell, but Lopes made a string of confident saves to keep his side in contention.

Out of the blue, there was a Hanwell goal for home fans to cheer on 71 minutes. Peter Davis went on a mazy run through the inside-left channel, lost the ball and then retrieved it before driving a routine shot from outside the box that shouldn't really have caused Straker any problems. But after plenty of drizzly rain during the game, the pitch was slippery in some areas and the 'keeper seemed to lose his footing as the ball went under him.

Hanwell had more than a glimmer of hope now and midfielder Anthony Walsh prompted more openings as they pushed hard for an equaliser. But Michael Marrew tapped the ball in from close range inside a crowded box to seal the win at 3-1 in the 90th minute.

Attendance: 31