Canterbury City’s dream of Wembley continues after a battling performance against a really good footballing side and in front of a record breaking crowd of 602.
City now await the draw on Monday lunchtime to see who they draw, Northwich Victoria, Chertsey or Cray Valley Paper Mills.
The game started with Biggleswade on the front foot & it was no surprise that in the 7th minute they took the lead when Ryan Inskip & Adam Hunt combined on the right wing enabling Hunt to get to the by-line & his low cross to the back post was knocked in by Tom Cookman.
This looked ominous for City as Biggleswade’s record this season showed they liked scoring & actually had scored 83 so far this season.
They had a lot of possession & were picking up the second ball most times, in the 25th minute a corner to the back post found Benat Pena & his header from 8 yards was saved by Delo.
City’s first shot in anger came in the 30th minute when Dan Lawrence running forward from half way saw his 25 yard effort saved easily by Ross Tompkins. In the 37th minute Inskip latched on to a loose ball & from 20 yards his shot went over the bar. Canterbury were hanging on & then in the 42nd minute Chris Saunders received the ball 25 yards out & noticed Tompkins off his line & his superb lob beat him, similar to his effort against Leicester Nirvina.
As we know goals change games & suddenly Biggleswade looked rattled by this. Half time arrived & both Managers’ team talks would change after that goal, City’s confidence would be high while Biggleswade would be shell shocked as they had dominated the game but had not taken advantage of this.
The second half was only a minute old when City took the lead, a through ball for Dean Grant who took two touches before shooting past Tompkins from 15 yards. City were now in control of their own destiny. Biggleswade had had a bad 4 minutes but had time on their side to get back into the game.
In the 48th minute Laurie Marsh 20 yards out saw his shot parried away for a corner by Delo & four minutes later a ball into the City box was deflected sideways for Inskip but from 8 yards he volleyed wide.
The game continued in the same vein as the first with Biggleswade having a lot of possession but not really doing much with it. In the 70th minute Marsh in the area received the ball but his touch let him down as he shot straight at Delo.
Five minutes later City had a rare chance to increase their lead when Mobolaji Dawodu latched onto a loose ball on the left wing & his cross fell to Renford Tenyue who under pressure missed his kick & Phil Starkey close buy struck it goal wards but it went well over the bar.
In the 79th minute City’s hearts were in their mouths as a ball to the back post was headed across the goal & Marsh 6 yards out miscued his shot as it went out for a goal kick. In the 82nd minute another rare attack saw Grant running down the right wing & his cross found Ollie Lee but from 12 yards he headed wide.
Full time was getting ever nearer & Biggleswade continued to pass the ball forward hoping for a mistake or a bit of brilliance. Four minutes added on time was noted & for the minority of the crowd they became nervous wrecks waiting for the whistle & when it did they celebrated a deserved victory, they had defended for their lives & had showed their opponents how to score & now Wembley beckons.
CANTERBURY CITY:
J.DELO 2. M.TURNER 3. R.COOPER 4. P.STARKEY 5. L.WHEATLEY 6. G.SAYER 7. D.LAWRENCE
8. C.SAUNDERS (73) 9. D.GRANT (90+4) 10. J.CASEY (65) 11. M.DAWODU
SUBS USED: 15. T.TENYUE (65) 12. O.LEE (73) 14. J.TURNER (90+4)
SUBS NOT USED: 16. J.FROGGATT 18. R.LAWRENCE
BOOKINGS: 7. D.LAWRENCE (16) 2. M.TURNER (34)
BIGGLESWADE:
R.TOMPKINS 2. A.HUNT 3. M.SIMPSON 4. P.McCAFFERY 5. N.HENEBERY 6. B.PENA 7. A.MARSH (83)
8. L.MARSH 9. T.COOKMAN 10. L.NORTHFIELD (78) 11. R.INSKIP
SUBS USED: 16. J.LEAVERS 17. A.EZE (83)
SUBS NOT USED: 12. J.BRADBURY 14. C.INSKIP 15. N.GEORGE
BOOKINGS: 9. T.COOKMAN (53)
REFEREE: Mr L.WOOD
ASSISTANTS: Mr A.FARMER & Mr K.SEAR
4TH OFFICIAL: Mr J SIMPSON
ATTENDANCE: 602