[JonInMiddleGA]

Sat Oct 11, 2014 (evening)
Blyth (1st BSBN) vs Harrogate (21st BSBN)
English FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round
We're 1:6 favorites at home, ready as we'll ever be I suppose. History is not on our side. In my previous three seasons we've lost in the 4th, 2nd and 3rd rounds, two of those three to sides from lower divisions, never really meeting board expectations. A win here would do just that for us so, naturally, I'm uneasy. The trusty 4-4-1-1 Counter, how could I do anything else right now?

GK: McDonald
D: McGovern, Kerr, Seidu, Groves
M: Musungu, Baker, Smyth, Moke
F: Paratore, Cofie
Subs: (Sawyer, Shulton, Ahmed, Ivanusa, Rickard, Thompson, Dovey)

10' - They patiently work the ball around midfield, suddenly slip a man past the back line ... and he shoots wide, misjudging the angle
14' - Corner for Harrogate, far post, header ... (0-1)
16' - Paratore is dinged up but wants to stay on
21' - Switch to Attacking and more fluid
27' - Smyth shoots from long range, well wide
28' - Cofie is bumped off balance just as he shoots from 12 feet away, easily saved & held
29' - Baker has a run right at the defense, shot is blocked
30' - Paratore has a go from outside, it's high and wide left ... let's try pumping the ball into the box
33' - McDonald makes a huge save on Flood's shot, cleared for a corner .. which they fire harmlessly cross pitch out of bounds
36' - Cofie to the byline, great cross in front to Musungu ... he heads it over
39' - Harrogate's starting striker Allen goes down & out with an injury caused by Kerr's challenged, he's subbed off
42' - Free kick, we concede a corner
43' - Corner, we concede a corner ... cleared by Kerr

Halftime: "I expect to see a much better showing in the 2nd half" ... but honestly, I'm lying when I blast 'em. We've been crap mostly, nothing is working, especially our finishing.

45' - Sub Shulton (for Musungu, tiring) ...
60' - Moke drives down the right flank ... cross ... Shulton buries it with a diving header (1-1) ... his first ever goal for Blyth
67' - Cofie in heavy traffic, fights his way into the area ... shovels it left to Baker for a volley ... GOAL !!! (2-1) ....switch to Counter
72' - Stanton Smith looks for his second goal of the match, shoots it wide after a great individual effort
76' - Takeaway on the flank by Shulton, feeds Cofie who fires ... high
77' - Sub Sawyer (for Paratore, tired) ... shift Sawyer to DMC ... switch to Defensive
80' - Cofie wheels past a defender and fires ... high
83' - McGovern lobs the ball into the area, Moke's header goes off the crossbar
87'- Sub Ahmed (for McGovern, tired) ... shift Sawyer to DL ... switch to Contain
89' - 3 minutes added time
90' - Long pass, Stanton Smith for Harrogate cuts inside & fires ... wide
91:42' - Nowakowski is offside for Harrogate, more time to waste for us
92:56' - Cofie skies for a goal kick in the center circle, fouled and we kill more time

Full time: Blyth 2 - Harrogate 1
Ho hum. Coach Whitfield thanks the players for the comeback. McGovern was a weak point (6.3), Musungu (6.7) was underwhelming. Seidu, Kerr, Baker, Cofie all 7.0 or better, Shulton makes me look like a genius with a 7.6 MOM performance. That's 17 matches in a row without a loss for us, McDonald's clean streak ends at 377 minutes.

Oct 11, 2014 (postmatch)
We've been awarded $12,240 for our win. Fans are jubilant. Our upcoming match vs Droylsden has been moved to Wed Oct 22nd due to conflict with their replay against FC United.