FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Garforth Town 0-1 Pontefract Collieries
A very controversial Gavin Rothery penalty late into the second half propelled Pontefract Collieries into the next round of the FA Cup and left Garforth Town feeling like victims of a robbery.
If you’ve not seen the video of the ‘foul’ on Mikey Dunn on social media then you’re missed a treat.
Dunn went down after bearing down on Garforth goalkeeper Toby Wells and despite being 40 yards away from the incident, horrendously-positioned referee Ben Brighton incredibly awarded the spot kick which enabled Rothery to keep the Colls hopes of repeating their 2021 FA Cup heroics alive.
Even those yawn-fest faceless Twitter accounts who spend their days trawling social media to defend referees from the indefensible will no doubt be active in the next week with ludicrous explanations as to why the decision was ‘correct’.
Maybe they would be better educating officials as the standard at Step 5 and 6 is getting worse week by week.
The penalty denied Garforth a fairly deserved replay back at Ponte having put in an excellent performance’ against a team one league above them.
Before the penalty, Mr Brighton’s performance had hardly been rip-roaring.
The tie was hard to watch from a neutral perspective’s.
Overall there was four mass brawl, yet only one yellow card was shown as a result of them and even that was after the last one.
Mr Brighton failed to establish any authority and perhaps lost in when Ponte strongly appealed for a penalty early on following a challenge on Rothery.
Joe Lumsden had Ponte’s best first half chance as he hit the post.
Garforth looked particularly threatening on the counter-attacker and James Burgess almost went through one-on-one with goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson until an outstanding last ditch tackle by captain Spencer Clarke.
Garforth hit their purple patch midway through the second half and it almost resulted in them taking the lead.
How Allinson kept out Charlie Marshall’s goal-bound close range effort was miracle-like. Some Garforth fans had started celebrating.
Minutes later, the almost-jubilation feeling turned to sheer anger when Rothery slotted home the penalty.
What They Said
Garforth Town manager Paul Marshall
“The referee was in a poor position (for the penalty) and he listened to the screaming and shouting and gave the penalty.
“He was miles away because he was still on the halfway line so he didn’t get a clear view.
“When they don’t get a clear view they don’t give it so he was guessing.
“I’m disappointed really because I don’t think we deserved to lose the game.
“Their goalkeeper has made one brilliant save from Charlie (Marshall) and Burg had one good chance.”
Pontefract Collieries manager Craig Rouse
“Perhaps fortunate. When you look at the balance of play they had a lot of the ball in the second half and used it well.
“They got into the number nine (Burgess) and they had willing runners around him who were prepared to stretch the game and work our back-line.
“Is it a penalty? Maybe it is fortunate but it definitely one in the first half.
“That was a stonewall pen. Joe hit the post in the first half so I think we had the clearer chances.”
On the penalty: “Mikey definitely got there first and there was definitely a collision.
“It was stretching to get there so he was already falling down.
“The ‘keeper did collide him so in these days you’re running the risk.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if (the video shows it wasn’t a penalty).
“Garforth played really well and I don’t want to take anything away from them.
“They made a really good local derby cup tie.”
The Teams
Garforth Town: Wells, Zachariou, Omosebi, Woods (McAughhtrie 76), Denton (captain), Barkway, Marshall, Coupland, Burgess, Turner (Luis Silva 80), Thompson. Subs unused: Evans, Ball, Brown.
Pontefract Collieries: Allinson, Picton, Spratt, Williams (Lazenby 74), Clarke (captain), Turner, Baxendale (Bailey 67), Vann, Lumsden, Rothery, Dunn (Brown 83). Sub unused: Brook.
Who Was In Charge
Ben Brighton (4/10)
How Many Were There
246
Man of the Match
Alex Zachariou (Garforth Town)