In the first minute of the second half a broken leg sustained by VCD Athletic substitute Harry Sargent caused the match with Windsor and Eton in the F.A. Vase to be abandoned.
He had been on the pitch for less than thirty seconds when he went in for a hard but fair challenge that left him with a break just above his ankle. He could not be moved until an ambulance arrived and it was surprising that once news came in that the wait would be a one hour minimum, referee Abdulaziz Olol didn’t abandon the match immediately.
Clearly, the visitors were keen to continue having had a three goal half time lead despite playing into the strong wind, and they couldn’t complain about the referee not giving the match every chance to proceed. However, with the injured player still on the pitch covered in coats to keep him warm eighty minutes after going down, the match official made the decision to call it off.
As expected with the wind in their favour, the hosts were lively when they started but they wasted a couple of corners and went behind in the fifteenth minute. The Vickers defence stopped, believing Pawel Kowallkowski to be offside. However, he wasn’t deemed to be ‘active’ and Jattinder Liddar was not picked up and allowed to ease in before lifting it over goalkeeper Andy Walker.
Nathaniel Olawole cut in for the Vickers but fired well over before Malachi Morris was brought down in what must have been a matter of inches outside the penalty area. Morris took the free kick himself and it cleared the wall and beat Giordano Zabotti only to come back out off the crossbar.
Seven minutes before half time, the visitors stunned VCD by increasing their lead. A Vickers’ header fell to Ben Catt twenty-five yards out and his sweetly struck volley flew into the top corner.
Lee Bird met a deep VCD free kick at the far post but was unable to hit the target before Windsor added a third. Mo Davies somehow managed to curl in an inswinging corner that looked to be going straight in however, Kowallkowski headed it home on the line to be sure.
At the break, the Vickers’ management team made the decision to replace Morris with Sargent and the second half had barely started before the premature end.
Both teams will now have to wait for a decision by the Football Association on what actions will be taken, but it seems likely that the match will have to be replayed from scratch.
VCD Athletic: Walker, Lawrence, Cousins, Bird, Fitchett, Fenn, Olawole, Gboda, Babalola, Morris (Sargent 46), Heatley. Subs not used: Whielock, Jimoh, Kelly.
Goalscorers: None
Yellow card: Gboda
Windsor & Eton: Zabotti, Kitching, Davies, Manneh, Hutchings, Bridges, Chase-Kelly, Catt, Kowallkowski, McKernan, Liddar. Sub not used: Boylan, Bach, McDonnell, Whitehead, Mealing.
Goal scorers: Liddar (15), Catt (35), Kowallkowski (42)
Yellow cards: Catt, Hutchings
Referee: Abdulaziz Olol
Assistant Referees: Gulan Damji and Oliver Storey
Attendance: TBC
Images courtesy of Dave Budden