Northallerton Town 0 – Formby 6
Formby’s heroic F.A Carlsberg Vase run continued when they reached the last 32 of the national cup competition, hitting Northern League side Northallerton Town for six at a rain swept Regency Stadium on Saturday.
After a long journey to Yorkshire on Saturday morning, the Squirrels had to battle against some of the most difficult weather conditions, and the early loss of two key players through injury, but still managed to dominate the entire game and in the end they could have won by a much bigger margin.
Martyn Wilson in action against NorthallertonTheir victory means they have reached the latter stages of the competition for the first time in their history, and are just five games away from a Wembley appearance. Although still a distant dream, given Formby’s form in this season’s competition, you cannot discount them making further progress.
Formby signalled their intentions early on in the game and had the ball in the back of the net after just three minutes when Martyn Wilson fired home from close range after a Paul Lamb shot had deflected into his path. The goal was disallowed though as Wilson was adjudged to have been in an offside position.
Wilson went close again moments later when he narrowly missed the target with a free kick from the edge of the Northallerton area.
Paul Lamb celebrates his first goal with colleaguesThey took the lead in the 24th minute when striker Paul Lamb weaved his way into the area, skilfully beat three defenders and placed the ball under the advancing goalkeeper for a well worked individual goal.
The way Formby had opened the game was clearly a frustration for the home side, who began to become overly physical, putting in a lot of late challenges which were not punished by an over generous referee. This resulted in the Squirrels losing two players in quick succession, both with ankle injuries. Defender Mark Dermott and striker Steve Cavanagh both limping off the field, being replaced by David McGee and Ian Turner respectively.
Despite the enforced changes, Formby managed to stick to their game plan and scored a second ten minutes from half time. A quick free kick came out to Darren Jones who crossed into the area from 30 yards. The ball evaded everyone in the area and aided by a strong wind ended up in the top corner of the net.
Formby in action against NorthallertonFormby had the benefit of the wind behind them in the first half, so came out for the second expecting Northallerton to use the conditions to their advantage. However, this was not the case, and Formby killed the game off within a minute of the restart when a comedy of errors led to their third goal. John Morley broke into the Northallerton area just 20 seconds in to the half, but his shot was cleared off the line. However, rather than clear the ball to safety, the home defenders failed to deal with the loose ball and Martyn Wilson took advantage to fire home from close range.
Formby players celebrate their fourth goal against NorthallertonThe fourth goal came on 55 minutes when John Morley broke into the area from the left. The winger eased his way to the corner of the six yard box but rather than shoot with only Wolfe to beat, he squared the ball to a grateful Northallerton defender. Unfortunately for him, his weak clearance fell straight to Paul Lamb who fired home from 12 yards for his 20th goal of the season.
Northallerton’s defensive frailties almost led to a fifth goal on 66 minutes when a miss-kick from a home defender tested the skills of his own goalkeeper who managed to claw the looping ball from under the bar. Although Wolfe was able to save his colleagues embarrassment, he was responsible for Formby’s fifth. Formby winger Martyn Wilson broke into the area and his low shot looked to have been covered by Wolfe, but the keeper failed to hold the ball and it rolled into the net.
Three minutes later, he was able to make amends with a fine double save, the first from Ian Turner and then from John Morley on the rebound.
The sixth goal came with three minutes remaining when young striker Ian Turner turned in the area and fired home for his first goal for the senior side having graduated from the youth team.
Formby goalkeeper Lee Gunnion, a virtual spectator for the entire second half, was called into action twice in injury time when Northallerton had two clear chances, but he made two fine saves to preserve his clean sheet.
MATCH FACTS
GOALS: LAMB (24mins)0-1, D.JONES (35mins)0-2, WILSON (46mins)0-3, LAMB (55mins)0-4, WILSON (77mins)0-5, TURNER (87mins)0-6.
NORTHALLERTON TOWN: WOLFE, BARKER, BYTHWAY, JANKOWICZ, HARMSWORTH, BETTSON, EARL, DOUGLAS, DODSWORTH, HUME, HEBB. SUBS: HETHERINGTON, HOLBROOK, TOMAN, LENEGHAN, CLEMENTS.
FORMBY: GUNNION, DERMOTT (Sub. McGEE 26mins), D.JONES, ROSE, KERR, HOWARD (Sub. P.JONES 73mins), MORLEY, McMULLEN, CAVANAGH (Sub. TURNER 31mins), LAMB, WILSON.
REFEREE: MR R.ATKIN of SCUNTHORPE.
ATTENDANCE: 87.
FORMBY FC MAN OF THE MATCH: JOHN MORLEY.
Report by Paul Lawler