Reds Cup hopes on hold

Stanley 1 Worcester 1

STANLEY face an awkward trip to Worcester City tonight (Monday) after being held to a 1-1 draw in the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round against the Conference North strugglers at the Interlink Express Stadium on Saturday.

Things started well with Gary Roberts firing home from a 25-yard free kick after just 15 minutes to give Stanley a deserved lead.

But the Reds failure to kill the game off ultimately proved costly. They had their chances. Indeed Stanley could have been 1-0 up even before their opener when Mangan squandered a chance when one-on-one with the keeper.

Worcester leveled five minutes before the break when Leon Kelly scored from close range.

After the break with Boco and Mullin on for Jagielka and Mangan, Stanley looked to up the tempo. Boco showed his class by forcing a fine save from the visitor’s keeper.

Before the end Mullin was desperately close to forcing home a Roberts volley but it was not to be.

We conceded another sloppy goal," said manager John Coleman. "The crowd have got agitated when we were only winning 1-0 but you only need to win cup games 1-0 - you don't need to win three or four.

"But once again we couldn't hold onto a lead and we did not keep the ball well enough. They might think they have done the hard work  now - but they could be in for a big shock."

The winners of the replay will travel to Chippenham Town on Saturday 5th November, 2005 in the First Round proper.