Swinton Athletic 1-0 Frecheville CA

Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup, Saturday 12^th October 2013

A misjudgement from Frecheville goalkeeper Zaffe Mir was enough to send Swinton Athletic to the third round of the Senior Challenge Cup at Frecheville’s expense.

The game looked destined for extra time when a long ball from the Frecheville backline with twenty minutes to go bounced over the goalkeeper’s head, falling to Hayden Barnett who simply rolled the ball into the empty net.

Visitors Frecheville may seem hard done by and they had a goal disallowed after fourteen minutes. Russell Hobson was played through with just the goalkeeper to beat; he then performed a delightful chip over Dan Mirton’s head and into the net, however was ruled offside.

Five minutes later Hobson was in the thick of the action again. The ball broke kindly for the striker in the box but he was denied by the left-hand post.

Swinton’s Joel Bennett and Frecheville’s Robbie Ward also were required to leave the field due to injuries which may cause headaches for both managers.

Frecheville had the first chance of the afternoon. Danny Bainbridge took a free-kick from the half way line; it missed everyone in the box but came within inches of sneaking in at the far post.

At the other end of the pitch, Swinton’s Matt Beevers had a powerful effort from the edge of the box deflected wide and moments later Barnett headed over.

Frecheville looked threatening in attack. Robbie Ward was denied by Mirton’s quick reactions as he pulled off a save with his legs midway through the first half. The rebound fell to Ben Dronfield however the follow up sailed into the side-netting.

Before half-time they had several half-chances. Ward volleyed over from a tight angle before Bainbridge’s long range effort went over the bar. For Swinton, Mark Clare’s left-footed shot was comfortably caught by Mir.

The second half began very much in the same vein the first had finished, with both sides inseparable. With chances at both ends, Hobson had a shot from range which fell wide for Frecheville and Clare likewise missed the target with a blistering effort.

Half-time Swinton substitute Ryan Foxey almost made an immediate impact early in the half. He jinxed past three players before producing a cross from the left. Striker, Clare, headed narrowly wide.

Another substitute, Swinton’s Darren Walker was played through by Moxey, but his shot from a tight angle was gathered by Mir.

The deciding goal was a simple route one, which appeared to be over-hit. Frecheville’s Mir positioned himself close to the edge of his box, but completely misjudged the bounce and it danced over his head. Barnett reacted quickly and was first to the loose which was then sent into the empty net.

There was still time for the net to rattle once more, but this too was ruled out. Athletic’s Justin Greenwood crossed for Barnett who slotted into the net. However the goal was ruled out due to a foul on Shaun Garwell.

Frecheville, who are above Swinton in the league table, never looked like getting back into the game, despite the hosts playing with ten men for the final ten minutes after Joel Bennett’s leg injury.

Swinton Athletic Team: Dan Mirton, Curtis Wilkinson, Joel Bennett, Lucas Briggs, Josh Dacre, Jon Billups, Justin Greenwood, Matt Beevers, Alex Wilkinson, Hayden Barnett, Mark Clare. Subs: Lee Woodhall, John Burns, Ross Shelton, Ryan Doxey, Darren Walker.

Frecheville CA: Zaffe Mir, Adam Smith, Mitchell Golland, Shaun Garwell, Daniel White, Danny Bainbridge, Ben Furnace, Jack Heald, Robbie Ward, Russell Hobson, Ben Dronfield. Subs: Matt Stagg