Stefan Holt celebrates putting Shaw Lane in front against Shildon. Photo: White Rose Photos
The FA Vase adventure goes on for heroic Shaw Lane Aquaforce after Craig Elliott’s men knocked out the competition favourites Shildon with a 3-2 victory at Oakwell.
The long-awaited third round tie was finally played last night and Shaw Lane overcame a nervy start to deservedly beat the Northern League giants.
A defensive mistake gifted Shildon the lead inside two minutes, but Aquaforce responded with two Stefan Holt goals to go in front at half-time.
Shane Kelsey seemingly put a poor Shildon side out of their misery until a late goal ensured a nerve-jangling finale.
The home side held their nerve during the six added minutes of injury-time to book a tie with Walsall Wood in the next round.
It was another special night for the Toolstation Northern Counties East League and Aquaforce, who have now completed two major scalps against Northern League sides.
Elliott’s players ran through brick walls for him and the memorable win was mainly down to the sheer hard Shaw Lane put in.
From back to front, Shaw Lane were magnificent. Defensively, after a bad start, Shaw Lane soaked up pressure with ease.
The three midfielders Matt Thornhill, Steve Istead and Anton Foster controlled possession and then Lee Morris led the forward line heroically.
The striker, who never stopped running, won free kicks, chased down lost causes and wore Shildon’s defence down.
The tie had created a lot of excitement in South Yorkshire because the game was played at Oakwell, the home of Barnsley.
Almost 400 were present as Shaw Lane endured the worst possible start when goalkeeper Ben Gathercole dropped the ball inside his penalty area – handing Ben Wood a simple tap-in.
Shaw Lane struggled to deal with Shildon’s bullying tactics – which were clearly working. Experienced players like Istead and Foster were playing stray until the switch was suddenly flicked on against the run of play on 23 minutes.
Luke O’Brien’s perseverance won his side a corner and Shildon defended it poorly as Holt was presented with a straight-forward header inside the six-yard-box.
Shildon’s game-plan blew up in smoke at this stage. Their supporters were blaming everyone from the referee, the FA, but Shildon failed to come up with a performance worthy of progressing.
The visitors could not deal with corners – despite the height of their defenders. Shaw Lane had upped the ante as the first half wore on and Shildon’s vulnerability from set-pieces cost them again as half-time beckoned.
They allowed a corner to find the edge of the penalty area and Holt’s low drive found its way home past a crowd of players.
Shaw Lane players turn to celebrate after Stefan Holt’s second goal hits the net. Photo: White Rose Photos
Shildon made two changes at half-time, but neither change made the slightest of difference as Shaw Lane were the team taking the game to the opposition.
Aquaforce had complete control of the proceedings and the third goal was coming.
Jimmy Eyles had forced a good save from Kyle Hayes before a Shane Kelsey free kick wrong-footed the Shildon goalkeeper and gave the home side the decisive goal.
Even as the match reached the final ten minutes, Shaw Lane remained the more threatening of the two teams.
Shildon did get an unlikely goal back as the clock struck 90 minutes through Michael Rae.
The board soon went up for six additional minutes and the large travelling support urged their team on.
The match was back in the balance, but an equaliser would have been undeserved as Shildon created little in the second half.
All Gathercole had to do was pick the ball out of his net and collect a few crosses in the second act.
With their vast experience, Shaw Lane were able to see it out with relative ease. Morris, Istead, Thornhill and Foster rarely lost the ball in the final quarter and that trend continued into added time.
Thornhill even had two glorious chances to finally put the game to bed and only Hayes kept his side afloat.
Tension filled the air as Shaw Lane hung on and the referee’s whistle was greeted with a huge roar from Aquaforce players and supporters.
The Wembley dream remains alive and if they didn’t after the West Auckland win, people will take notice of Shaw Lane now.
Shaw Lane Aquaforce manager Craig Elliott:
“It was fantastic and I’m over the moon for everyone at the club.
“It has been a great night. I said before the game that it was a big game because of the venue and opposition and competition.
“To win and deservedly win makes it even better.”
On the game:
“You talk about having a good start, that was the worst possible start.
“In hindsight, it spurred us on and gave us something to go. Until the 20 minute mark, I think we were a bit nervous and tentative.
“After that we were excellent. We got it down and played like we can.”
Shaw Lane Aquaforce: Gathercole, Stohrer, O’Brien, Foster, Denton, Holt, Istead, Thornhill, Eyles (Fox 76), Morris, Kelsey (Darley 86). Subs unused: Thornton, Danville, Conway.
Shildon: Hayes, Hodgson, Richardson, Hudson, Craddock, Brackstone, Moore (Doninger 68), Scroggins (Rae HT), Connor, Wood, Greslich-Smith (Emms HT). Subs unused: Graham, Rundle.
Referee: Tim Walker
Ref Rating: 10/10
Attendance: 371
Man of the match: Lee Morris (Shaw Lane Aquaforce)