Around the grounds in the FA Cup Preliminary round
LEEK Town manager Neil Baker said he was glad to see his side progress in the FA Cup, even though they weren’t at their best on a blistering afternoon at the Castlecroft Stadium as they were made to dig deep and produce a workmanlike and solid showing.
Aaron Bott’s first-half spot kick was enough for the Blues in a game that won’t live long in the memory of fans from either side.
But the Northern Premier League Division One South East side are in the hat for the first qualifying round and that’s all that matters to Baker, who was delighted with the showing.
“The object of the exercise in any cup game is to get through and we’ve done that,” he said.
“I thought Wulfrunians raised their game and gave us a real difficult tie, so I’m just pleased to get through - they had a real good go.
“We didn’t play at our best by any means but, we’ve got ourselves through and that’s the main thing.
“It’s still early in the season and we’re nowhere near peak condition by any means.
“It was testing conditions with the heat.
“We expected a real battle and that’s what we got – it’s always the same in these early rounds of the FA Cup.”
James Kirby came close to opening the scoring with barely a minute on the clock, but he couldn’t turn his shot goalward.
That came to be the story of the first half for the visitors who had much the better of the early exchanges but couldn’t make it pay in the final third.
Ten minutes from the break, following a handball in the area, Bott stepped up to break the deadlock from the spot and edge Leek ahead.
AFC Wulfrunians looked like a different side in the second period and seemed determined to make it a much more even contest but it was Leek who almost doubled their lead on the hour mark.
An error at the back from Ben Jevons gifted a what seemed an inevitable goal to Jake Twyford, but the Blues forward somehow steered his
shot wide of the far post from 18-yards.
That prompted a mini onslaught from the away side who forced a spectacular double save from Wulfs keeper Connor Hopkins, first from Chris Baker and then Twyford.
As the game edged towards its conclusion, Wulfrunians threw everything at their opponents.
From a corner, the ball dropped kindly for substitute Mason Birch, but his volley cannoned back off the bar when it looked a certain goal.
Chris Knight then curled one agonisingly wide as the home side continued to pile on the pressure.
Tim Grice was a whisker away from putting the gloss on Leek’s win, racing in behind the Wulfs back line with seconds remaining but he couldn’t keep his powerful effort down.
And the visitors took the win. STAR MAN: Aron Bott (AFC Wul) ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★