Rothbury 2 Jesmond 3
Team Valley Carpets Amateur Cup
Even the biting chill of an arctic wind couldn’t take the
heat out of this Amateur Cup quarter final as Rothbury crashed out after being
reduced to nine men.
A bumper crowd of just under 100 braved the freezing
conditions and witnessed the Reds hit the self-destruct button in the second
half as two players were sent off - with a Jesmond player also being ordered to
the dressing rooms as tempers flared late on.
Powerful Hillmen midfielder Kyle Smith wasn’t looking for
any excuses after his goal-scoring man-of-the-match performance but felt that
the unavailability of a number of key players may have had an effect on the
game.
“I don’t think the occasion got to us as such, but however I
feel we missed a few players like Tommy Mac (skipper Tom Macpherson) as he is a
massive player on our team,” he said.
“The fans were amazing and it really was inspiring to see -
they really got behind the lads and we tried our best to put a show on for
them,” he continued.
Smith fired Rothbury ahead after the ball had pin-balled
around in the box and he displayed great technique to crash it into the back of
the net.
“It was my only chance of the game. I saw it rebounding
towards me and it took an awkward bounce - it wasn’t exactly a bread and butter
finish, but I got over the ball well and struck in down the centre of the goal.
It felt amazing, especially in front of such a big crowd. We will learn from
our mistakes and we go again next week,” said Smith.
Jesmond fought back to level and Alex Cole then shot them
ahead. The visitors added a killer third with Rothbury chasing the game when Andy
Mogwo tucked away from the penalty spot.
Veteran striker Jack Angus marked his return to a Rothbury
strip as a late substitute and pulled one back to give the Coquetdalers hope of
a dramatic fight-back with a classic poacher’s finish as the clock ticked down.
“The goal was just instinct, but I’m looking forward to
hopefully playing a bigger role in the team in the future. I felt alright to be
fair, but only played 15 minutes at the end so very limited,” said Angus.
“We were best in the first half by a long way, but just
seemed to fold in the second half, really poor,” he admitted.
Sidelined captain and joint player manager Tom Macpherson
could only watch on in frustration due to an injury as the side capitulated
after the break and said: “To be honest we didn’t really turn up and too many
players had an off day. Discipline was definitely a factor, not just the
sending offs, we also lost our shape as soon as we conceded. The lads have to
learn for this and bounce back next week.”
Macpherson was, however, delighted by the backing that the
crowd had given the Reds and is hoping for another bumper turn-out when
Rothbury are back in League action against mid-table Willington Quay Saints at
Armstrong Park on Saturday.
“The crowd yesterday was absolutely phenomenal, let’s hope
for the same next week. Someone counted 97 people there, which for a Step 9 team
is brilliant.”
MATCH SPONSOR: ROTHBURY FAMILY BUTCHERS.
CLUB SPONSOR: NEWCASTLE HOUSE HOTEL
Comments
Post a Comment