It was a rather wet and gloomy day with the rain a constant figure for most of the afternoon, the travelling supporters of Wisbech Town shouted " we have not come here for nothing" before the warm ups had even started and this was said as the players came out to warm up along with the encouraging cheer that was met with appreciation by Wisbech, its admirable of the traveling supporters who made the long trip from The Fenlands to see their side in action. As stated in the match preview Wisbech Town had a manager change last week after finding themselves at the foot of the table in their respective league which is Step 5. They had signed many players in the last week to bolster their squad for upcoming games as well.

We knew this would be a battle and that's exactly what it was, and it was a game of very very few chances which we will go into but the game was played in a good manner which some crunchy tackles and aerial duels.

Town did have a last-minute change to make, new signing Adam Hipperson was unfortunately tied up with work commitments, so Charlie Pennell went in on the right hand side and swapping with Robbie Turner from time to time. The midweek victory over Soham was fantastic but Danny Crow was forced to play Harrison Hide at Centre Back with the absence of both Cook and Anema. The same formation was adopted, and Asa McGeachy was to partner Nathan Stone upfront, and Joe Manning came back in to centre half and took the captaincy in the absents of Cook. The ever-reliable pair of Harry Hawthorne and George Barber kept their positions at full back and Brandon Pickess kept his place in midfield partnering Josh Durham. Ryan Crisp was also out with a hamstring injury which he picked up against Soham and is looking to be back in the next 4-6 weeks which is a huge blow for Town.

The game was underway, and the rain was persistent, It took town 47 seconds to register their first chance and over the course of the 90 minutes probably the best chance of the game. Nathan Stone flicked the ball on and McGeachy found himself through on goal, but his side foot finish was well saved by Jake West in the Wisbech goal.

It was worth mentioning this as this happened after 2 minutes and for me set the tone for some of the refereeing decisions we saw. McGeachy found himself free on the right-hand side and Max Mattless seemed to not only pull McGeachy down but actually pull him down by his neck. Now if a foul would have been given it would have been a yellow card as McGeachy was in a promising position however the referee waved play on and didn't even give a freekick.

It was a very action-packed start to Town and McGeachy was at the centre of it, another flick on by Nathan Stone saw McGeachy put the ball in the back of the net for it only to be disallowed for an offside, which was the correct call from where I was standing.

Robbie Turner then had an effort on goal after great play between Brandon Pickess and Asa McGeachy, Robbie Turners shot was well hit but went wide of the target.

Town were really starting to ramp the pressure up in the first 10 minutes and they created yet another chance from Nathan Stone after great work by George Barber. The visitors then had their first effort of the game after around 12 minutes. Amir Ward who was a very lively threat all afternoon for Wisbech was found on a counter attack from a Town corner but his fiercely right footed shot went over the bar but it was a lot closer then it looked.

For the next 15 minutes or so the game evened out and both teams were battling and cancelling each other out. Wisbech then had half and opening but it was very well defended by George Barber. In that period Town had got sloppy at times with misplaced passes and the frustration was setting in a little bit and the players did their best to encourage each other. Town were forced into a change and the lively Asa McGeachy injured his quad to be replaced by 16 year old Kyle Bettinson. Town then reverted back to what was called "Plan B" that was instructed on the side-line by Danny Crow. This saw Town revert back to a 4-3-2-1.

Wisbech then had their best chance of the half. They worked it well and Elliot Pride made a brilliant one on one save to deny the Wisbech player.

Half Time and it was 0-0, Town had started really brightly and you felt that an early goal would have set the tone for us to push on but credit to the visitors they rode out the first 10 minutes and came back strong themselves.

Town were forced into a change at halftime as Charlie Pennell was replaced by Connor Delaney.

The second half began, and the rain didn't stop. The first real talking point of the half came when Nathan Stone was sinbinned. In unusual territory Stone found himself at right full back defending against a threatening attack which he did brilliantly. He played the ball off the Wisbech player and trotted away getting himself back into a familiar position of centre forward. The referee then decided to point the other way giving a throw to Wisbech to bemusement of Stone and the Town players. Stone made a passing comment, and the referee decided to sinbin Stone. Now people might read this and think "Yeah whatever its Gangles" but he didn't make any comment that would personally constitute to dissent. It was the same for both sides as Amir Ward was unfairly booked for his hand landing on a ball after a sliding tackle

The fact I am spending time writing a whole piece on this tells you how un action packed this second half was. That isn't a dig on either team I think both teams just cancelled out the other really well and both defences were superb.

With about 20 minutes to go Town had their only meaningful chance of the half and it was good work by Connor Delaney and George Barber down the right-hand side but Nathan Stones shot was blocked well.

Full Time 0-0 and we went onto penalties....

As I prepared our X account updates for the penalties, I could almost feel myself getting ready to write the headline "Penalty Heartbreak For Town" that's not because I did not believe in the boys, its because I have witnessed so many penalty heartbreaks and kind of prepared myself for it.

Wisbech stepped up first and the player confidently despatched the penalty well. Josh Durham then stepped up and fired his penalty sending the keeper the wrong way and that made it 1-1. Wisbech stepped up again and despite Elliot Pride getting his hand on it the ball went into the back of the net 2-1.

Then the turning point came, the ever-reliable Joe Manning stepped up and saw his penalty well saved by the Wisbech keeper, it seemed like history was going to repeat itself again.

Wisbech stepped up and made it 3-1 leaving no margin for error for Town now. Harrison Hide stepped up and tugged his penalty away even though the goalkeeper got a strong hand to it. 3-2

Wisbech then stepped up for what would be match point. The left footed player marked out his run with confidence as he stepped back in the Harleston rain. He then attempted a Panenka which on reflection i admire the young man’s confidence but unfortunately for him the application was miles of and went over the bar. Connor Delaney who has never shied away from taking a penalty for town in a shootout stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way.

It was then sudden death and the Wisbech player then stepped up and saw his right footed effort again go over the bar. This then set up Nathan Stone to score the winner, Stone stepped up and had his spot kick saved only for the linesman to put his flag up as the keeper had come off his line.

Stone then took his time, stepped up and then fired the ball into the roof of the net sending Town through to the next round vs Heacham.

On reflection it was not a game for the neutral, but a win is a win for Town, and we look forward to the next round tie on 21st September.

Man of the match - Harrison Hide

For the second week running the Cornerstone East Anglia Limited man of the match goes to Harrison Hide. I would not say the centre forward position, or the centre back position is not familiar to Harrison but in the last 2 games he has put 2 brilliant performances in those positions.

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