07/08/2024
By Chris Gibbs
Newcastle Town 3 (T. Van der Laan 31, Stubbs 44, Jones 60
Evesham United 2 (Dunn (48), Steele (90 pen)
After coming just the width of two posts from exiting the competition on Saturday, the lads put in a terrific performance last night to sail through to the preliminary qualifying round of the FA Cup, where we will next face Hellenic Premier Division side, Westfields.
Pre-match, our gaffer Neil Baker had called for more composure and better control of possession. Well, he got both of those in spades in a performance which promises much for the season ahead.
Featuring an unchanged XI from Saturday – in fact it was an unchanged squad –the first half in particular highlighted just what this team could be capable of.
Sharp passing, good use of the width of the pitch and players getting forward quickly to supplement fast attacks was very much the order of the day.
Our opponents Evesham found it hard to keep pace and the only surprise was that it took 31 minutes for us to gain the lead. A fine run down the left from the pacy Ben Woods was complemented by the full back putting in a fine cross which wrong footed the back tracking Evesham defence but not our skipper Tommy van der Laan, who had the simple task of side footing home at the far post.
Two minutes before the break a Kyle Stubbs long throw caused pandemonium in the visitors’ defence and when the ball broke to the edge of the box our skipper Tommy caught a volley as sweet as you like but somehow the Evesham keeper pulled off an astonishing save.
The reprieve was not to last long. Isaac Graham floated a corner over from the right and when play was recycled from the other side of the pitch after the ball was only half cleared, Jack Sherratt delivered a cross which Kyle Stubbs bundled in from close range to complete an outstanding first 45 minutes for our boys.
Evesham rang the changes with a double substitution at half time, but we nearly increased our lead in the opening seconds when Tom Jones lobbed the keeper,only for his shot to be cleared off the line by a covering defender. His finish just didn’t quite have the legs.
But then out of nothing Evesham got themselves a way back in. When a defensive clearance ricocheted in our penalty area, Alfie Dunn – one of those two half time subs – places a neat finish calmly across Slinny to offer the visitors hope.
Briefly, we were rocked and understandably so having been so dominant up to that point, but we soon found our feet again – Isaac Graham and Nathan Barry stinging Alex Morris’ fingertips with a couple of zingers from outside the box.
On the hour mark came the game’s decisive moment. With Evesham penned into their defensive third, Jack Sherratt played a lovely ball down the side feeding the fleet footed Tom Jones who slipped a neat finish inside the keeper’s near post.
It was then a case of keeping control of the game, which we did superbly, until a late wobble when referee Ben Stott decided that Stubbsy had fouled an Evesham forward in the box in the closing stages.
Despite a fine effort from Slinny, Levi Steel’s 90th minute spot kick crept in.
No matter, we held on quite comfortably and will now travel to Hereford to meet Westfields in the next round a week on Saturday.
Come on Castle!
Team: Slinn, Baltazar, Woods, Sherratt, Thorley, Stubbs, Graham, T. Van der Laan, Barry, Jones (Ritchie), Twyford.
Attendance: 195
Man of the match: Ben Woods