Lively FA tie sees a Shepshed Dynamo victory
BUILDBASE FA VASE - 2ND QUALIFYING WHITCHURCH ALPORT 2 SHEPSHED DYNAMO 3 SHEPSHED Dynamo bounced back from their midweek defeat to Walsall Wood in fine fashion on Saturday as they produced a spirited performance to overcome Whitchurch Alport in a frenetic FA Vase tie.
Celson Patrocinio’s strike in extra-time proved decisive on an action-packed afternoon in that saw no fewer than five goals.
Dynamo began brightly and should have taken an early lead when Joe Pheasant headed over from pointblank range after Liam Hurst flicked on Sam Moore’s cross from the right on 5 minutes.
Whitchurch captain Simon Everall then drew a fine fingertip save from Shepshed keeper Brandon Ganley as he drove infield and unleashed a fierce effort toward goal.
Dynamo responded with Matt Melbourne firing wide on two occasions before playing in an onrushing Sam Moore, whose low effort across goal was attentively saved by Alport stopper Dave Parton.
In a ding-dong battle, the hosts were then awarded a penalty on the stroke of halftime when Clayton McDonald was allegedly felled in the box. And Joe Minshall made no mistake, coolly slotting past Ganley to give Alport the lead against the run of play.
But Shepshed were soon on level terms. Just five minutes into the second period, Moore spun and struck a venomous shot from the edge of the area that sailed into the top corner.
And it got even better for Damion Beckford-Quailey’s men just three minutes later, when Liam Hurst’s quick throw-in found Melbourne, who turned and squared the ball for Zach Hill, who finished with aplomb to put the visitors ahead. Dynamo then sought to kill the game off, with Moore thrice going close and Melbourne’s driven shot fly just wide of the mark.
But Whitchurch levelled in the 71st minute to take the tie to extra-time when McDonald blasted home from a low, driven cross.
The hosts then had a golden chance to snatch victory in the first half of extra-time. The referee chose to play advantage after Joe Howell was fouled inside the box, allowing Everett to cut inside and go for goal only to see his effort clip the post and bounce wide.
And, sure enough, Alport would soon come to rue that miss with just eight minutes left.
From a long ball forward, the tireless Moore reached the byline and cut the ball back for substitute Celson Patrocinio, who guided a low shot toward goal that squirmed beyond the desperate grasp of Parton and won an enthralling match for Shepshed, who will now play at home against Bewdley Town on October 13 in the next round.
By Lucas Monk