All the action from the FA Cup second round ties
Fiery derby sees Sporting through in FA Vase
BOSS Darren Byfield offered no defence for striker Jordan Nadat’s Zinedine Zidanestyle headbutt that cost Walsall Wood a fighting chance in this feisty derby.
With his side trailing after Jay Holdcroft had forced inside the near post at the second attempt, Nadat tangled with Khalsa defender Shawn Boothe near the corner flag before charging head first into his rival’s chest just past the half hour.
Still reeling from the sheer stupidity of Nadat’s actions, a simple ball into the right of the box ended with Callum McFarlane levering Holdcroft to the floor in the box three minutes later.
Alex Woodhouse slammed home the spot-kick and the writing was on the wall when unplayable midfield maestro Liam Armstrong seized upon keeper Reiss Wagstaff’s short clearance to unerringly lash in the third.
Substitute Paul Sullivan held up and found Lee Butler to rifle in a late consolation, but Byfield conceded a tough task had become mission impossible following Nadat’s moment of madness.
“The first thing you want to do is a Wenger and say I didn’t see it, but I did,” said Byfield. “I spoke to Jordan at the end and told him he had let himself down, his teammates and the whole club.
“There was no panic at 1-0 because we knew we were good enough to be in the game all the way, but with 10 men it was an uphill battle. I still felt we played well and I was really proud of the lads. Even at 2-0 we hoped to get the next goal and cause that bit of panic.
“As disappointed as I was with the result, I had to be proud of the performance. I hate losing but I can accept it when we give our all like that. I couldn’t be too harsh.”
Opposite number Ian Rowe gleefully accepted the early Christmas gift, but was equally chuffed with Khalsa’s display.
“It was petulant, but from my point of view, I thought ‘great’,” said Rowe.
“I know Daz had showed a bit of faith by putting him (Nadat) back in and I was quite surprised to see him on the team sheet.
“The kid is decent and has pedigree at step three, so I thought he would cause us problems. When he did that I was rubbing my hands together.
“We scored the penalty soon after and went on from there. We knew if we managed the game correctly we would see it through, which we did. There was a crazy last five minutes when we rushed things and conceding the goal at the death narked me because we had been in total control.
“In a closer game it could have cost us so we have to stick to our standards and principles.
“Still, I am happy and touch wood we get a decent draw on Monday.”
STAR MAN: Liam Armstrong (Khalsa) ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★