Farsley Celtic and Harborough Town advance to Emirates FA Cup fourth round qualifying

Saturday 28 Sep 2024
Harborough Town's previous best performance in the Emirates FA Cup was reaching Second Round Qualifying last year

Farsley Celtic, Harborough Town and Chertsey Town moved one step away from the First Round Proper of the Emirates FA Cup with victories in Third Round Qualifying.

Celtic avoided an upset to Wythenshawe Town live on the BBC as the sixth-tier side saw off the hosts 1-0 in the early kick-off.

Harborough Town caused an upset as they knocked out Leamington, a team a division above them, with a 1-0 at home.

Gary Lockyer extended his FA Cup tally to 10 for the season but could not stop his Ashford United side from losing 3-2 to Chertsey Town.

Wythenshawe Town 0-1 Farsley Celtic 

Wythenshawe Town flew out of the traps as they looked to topple a side two tiers higher than them.

The hosts saw a penalty shout waved away just before Nick Hepple struck the post in the 17th minute with a shot across goal.

A penalty appeal was then turned down for Farsley Celtic before Darren Stephenson launched an attack through the middle.

He then rounded Greg Hall in the Wythenshawe net before firing home to put his side into the lead in the 33rd minute.

Before the break, Wythy piled on the pressure with four consecutive corners artfully delivered by Sam Sheridan.

Jean-Louis Akpa-Akpro came closest to scoring but could not find the back of the net as Celtic held on to take their lead into half-time.

After the break, Manchester United loanee Tom Wooster was kept busy in the Farsley Celtic goal.

Set-piece specialist Sheridan rattled the crossbar with a free-kick in the 75th minute before the final chance of the game fell to George Boyd whose volley was well saved by Wooster.

The victory sees Celtic advance to the fourth round qualifying for the first time since 2007.

Harborough Town 1-0 Leamington

With little to separate the two sides in the opening exchanges, Ben Starkie fired Harborough Town into the lead in the 23rd minute.

A free-kick from Ben Stephens went behind for a corner and from it, the ball found its way to Starkie who sent it into the corner.

The Bees almost extended their lead on the stroke of half time as Daniel Forbes forced Callum Hawkins into a save in the Leamington goal.

With only a slender lead, Harborough Town desperately tried to improve their cushion in the second half with a flurry of attempts, but to no avail.

It was then Leamington’s turn to have their best chance of the match as forward Tim Berridge saw his header was saved from point-blank range by Elliot Taylor.

Taylor was kept busy as he tipped a Rob Evans set-piece onto the bar but he and the home defence stood firm to secure the narrow win.

Chertsey Town 3-2 Ashford United

Against a side one tier below them, Chertsey Town showed their dominance early on as Jack Mazzone set up Bill Montague with a ball across the box for the midfielder to direct home in just the seventh minute.

Ten minutes later, Montague made it two for the hosts to see them head into the break with a comfortable lead.

Another early goal in the second half moved Chertsey well clear of their opponents as Ben Mason scored his first goal for the club with a header at the far post.

With just over half an hour to go, the competition’s top scorer Gary Lockyer gave his side some hope as he netted from the spot to reach double figures.

Both sides had to weather a long delay as Chertsey’s Isaac Olorunfemi received treatment leading to 15 minutes of added time.

Ashford United pulled another goal back to lead to nervy final moments but could not find the leveller as Chertsey advanced to equal their best performance in the FA Cup.

By FA Staff