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AFC Telford United's FA Cup journey came to a dramatic end at the KC Sofas Stadium, as hosts Worksop Town, the Tigers, emerged winners after extra time. A pulsating second qualifying round replay tie swung one way, then the other, before the hosts finally landed the killer blows.
Kevin Wilkin was forced into changes through injury, with Mal Benning, Jordan Cranston and Kian Ryley coming into the side to replace Matt Curley, Zak Lilly and Matty Stenson.
The Bucks looked bright early on. Ryley forced a smart save from Dearnley in the ninth minute, and Louis Moult volleyed goalwards soon after, but Dearnley again was equal to the effort.
The momentum shifted cruelly in the 24th minute when a defensive mix-up at the back allowed Ryan Viggars to nip through, colliding with keeper Brandon Hall before the ball trickled home. It was something of a sucker-punch, but had perhaps been coming after Hall's save from Viggars’ close-range header a couple of minutes earlier.
Sensing vulnerability, the hosts dominated the remainder of the half, but without putting Hall’s goal under too much pressure, and at the interval their lead remained a slender one.
Two-Goal Deficit, Then Fightback
The second half began scrappily with challenges flying in on both sides, the Bucks perhaps trying to match or even surpass the hosts’ physical superiority. Although largely firm but fair, the home side’s supporters were baying for bookings and even dismissals for incidents unworthy of such censure, and the officials resisted intervention as much as they could.
Half-way through the half, more inattentive defensive work by the away side allowed the Tigers to advance on the right and a low cross towards Viggars brought his and his side’s second goal. It wasn’t the cleanest contact from the forward, but it had enough to beat Hall’s dive to his right and to find the bottom corner.
Down 2-0, the tie appeared to be slipping away — but the introduction of substitute Rio Owen gave the Bucks fresh energy and changed the tie’s complexion.
His clever work down the left set up Remi Walker to halve the deficit in the 74th minute, shooting low past Dearnley to his right from just inside the box. Astonishingly, the Bucks were level again just eight minutes later when Owen himself met a low delivery from the right to tuck home under Dearnley at the near post. From nowhere, the Bucks had hauled themselves level.
Extra Time Turns the Tide Again
With the tie deadlocked after 90 minutes, extra time beckoned. Wilkin had employed Owen, Sam McLintock and Jack Lambert to good effect, and the momentum seemed to be with the Bucks; however, an injury to Ryley proved pivotal.
Left with a cut above his eye and looking dazed after a clash of heads while winning a defensive header, the Solihull Moors loanee remained on the ground for several minutes while his wound was dressed, and he needed changes of both shirt and shorts before he could rejoin the game.
Alas, the time added onto the first half of injury time was exploited by the hosts. Jordan Cranston, putting in a huge shift after very little football, was penalised for a push, and from the resulting free kick into the box, Josh Wilde's header was perfectly placed to beat Hall across the keeper to his left and find the far corner.
With Ryley withdrawn for the final 15 minutes, the fatigued and weary Bucks were down to ten players and were undone further.
Aleks Starcenko brought an end to consternation and some indecisive play in the box by driving a rising shot into the top corner in the 110th minute to make it 4-2, before Lewis Whitham curled a superb effort into the far corner in the 116th minute — a goal that summed up the space Worksop were now enjoying, with the Bucks stretched thin. Whitham was booked for his celebration, but the damage was done.
Even in the closing seconds, Telford refused to lie down — Owen's header in the 119th minute rebounded off the post via Dearnley, a fitting image of a night where the Bucks showed fight and came desperately close to something remarkable but ultimately paid the price for too many errors on the night, and more pertinently for not finishing the tie at the first time of asking.