Glossop North End 1 – Formby 0
Formby no doubt had one eye on this Saturday’s historic F.A Carlsberg Vase fixture against Northallerton Town, when they travelled to Glossop North End in the First Division of the Vodkat League, and lost by a solitary goal eight minutes from time.
The Squirrels arrived at Glossop with the game in some doubt with the overnight rain leaving the Surrey Street pitch resembling a swamp. The game went ahead though after Glossop heavily sanded their pitch, but Formby were clearly focussed on next week’s game, putting in a performance that was below their recent high standards. They were unable to play their usual flowing game, and the home side took full advantage to take maximum points in what was a shock result.
It was the home side who had most of the early play but the Formby defence coped easily with Glossop’s pressure.
Formby striker Steve Cavanagh had a good opportunity in the first quarter of the match when he broke through on goal but was denied by the Glossop keeper.
The visitors tried to press forward with Lamb, Cavanagh and Wilson all causing Glossop problems, but with the pitch holding up the ball, they were unable to convert their chances.
At the other end, goalkeeper Lee Gunnion kept the scores level just before the break when he tipped over a shot from Glossop’s Darren Hamilton.
Early in the second half, Glossop thought they had a good shout for a goal when a cross from the left caught Gunnion off-guard and the home players thought the ball had crossed the line but their appeals were turned away.
Glossop had the best of the second half but once again the Formby defence coped easily with their pressure. However, their resolve was finally broken on 82 minutes when Darren Hamilton crossed into the box and Dave Morris half-volleyed his shot past Gunnion.
The defeat ended Formby’s three match winning run in the league and saw them drop down to eleventh place in the Vodkat League First Division. With only two sides in the top nine managing a victory on Saturday, Formby missed the opportunity to close the gap on the leading pack in the league.
FORMBY: GUNNION, ROSE, ROBINSON, D.JONES, KERR (SUB. HOWARD 82MINS), GARNELL, P.JONES (SUB. TURNER 68MINS), DERMOTT, CAVANAGH, LAMB, WILSON. SUB NOT USED: MORLEY.
Report by Paul Lawler