Celtic still on march as
WEST Allotment Celtic claimed another Northern League Division One scalp as they progressed to the first qualifying round of the Emirates FA Cup for the first time since 2015.
Having beaten Whickham in the extra preliminary round, they travelled to Cumbria yesterday to take on another top-tier side Penrith and came away with a well-deserved win.
Both teams made a tentative start to a nervy affair at Frenchfield Park and most of the play was between the two areas.
But it was Allotment captain Dean Walker who broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark, getting on the end of a Michael Baxter cross and hitting a precise, low drive into the Penrith net to record their first goal of the season from open play.
Penrith’s attacks kept on breaking down on the edge of the Allotment area, and the visitors went close to extending their lead two minutes before the break when Jacob Forster’s header hit the post.
The lively duo of Baxter and Abubaker Salim posed the biggest threats to the Cumbrians’ defence as the visitors looked to find a second goal ahead of half-time – but without success.
Just before the hour mark, two long balls from the back allowed Salim to run past the Penrith back four, but both times Penrith centre back Cameron Harker managed to block the winger’s shot.
For their part, Penrith struggled to string many passes together and found clear-cut chances and shots hard to come by.
A Max Brown pass was a foot or two too strong for Shaun Gardner to get on the end of, and then Gardner took the ball too wide with only Allotment keeper Finlay Hodgson in front of him.
He managed to get the ball back into the six-yard area but full-back Luke Parkinson was able to clear his lines.
Penrith then grabbed an equaliser on 72 minutes when Ryan Errington finished off a three-man move with a low shot, but their lead only last two minutes. Baxter hit the goal of the game with a stunning shot from the right, giving Penrith keeper Luke Millar no chance.
Bonny Blues midfielder Matty Story tried to keep his side moving forward, but several of his passes were squan
dered by his team-mates up front.
Allotment wrapped up the victory though in the last minute when a Matthew Hayton pass prised open the Penrith defence.
Salim found himself clear and his cross found Baxter in acres of space in front of goal, and the winger calmly struck it home to score his second goal of the game.
He almost grabbed a hat-trick with
an audacious lob from just inside the Penrith half deep in injury-time, but he saw his shot agonisingly come back off the bar.
Afterwards Celtic boss Jay Bates said: “It was a good win. We didn’t know too much about them but in the first half we controlled the game.
“In the second half they came into it more and that started to open up spaces for our wide players.
“Having beaten another first division team, we thought we had a chance and we’re really looking forward to see who we get in the next round.”
PENRITH: Millar, Faustino, Metcalfe, Davidson, Harker, Story, Brown, Main, Brown, Gardner, Errington Subs: Law, Forrester, Ivinson, Clarke, Best
WEST ALLOTMENT: Hodgson, Bolton, Parkinson, Forster, Trodd, Burns, Baxter, Walker, Hayton, Beeston, Salim Subs: Ogbewe, Mendes-correia, Higgins, Carney