UNION Mills booked their place in the second round of the Cu-Plas FA Cup following an impressive 3-1 victory over Premier League side St John’s at Mullen-e-Cloie on Saturday afternoon.
In one of only a handful of games that survived the weather at the weekend, the Division Two outfit produced an excellent display and sealed their progression thanks to a brace from Matthew Cain and one from AJ Suckling.
However, the Millers had to do it the hard way after they fell behind early on in the fixture. The contest was just nine minutes old when the Saints broke the deadlock courtesy of a well-worked bit of play from the hosts. Bulgarian midfielder Krasmir Stoev won possession just inside the visitors’ half, fed the ball to Michael Peace who in turn played a superb through-ball to Stephen Glover who took the ball in his stride before expertly slotting past on-rushing Mills goalkeeper Christian Cellamare and into the back of the net.
Despite the setback, the Garey Mooar side responded well and brought themselves level six minutes later when Steven Quine latched on to a long ball downfield before flicking the ball through to Matthew Cain who utilized his pace to sprint clear of the defence before side-footing the ball high past Saints keeper Gary Burgess for 1-1.
And a minute later the visitors very nearly found themselves in front when the same two combined again, this time Cain’s shot deflecting into the path of Quine inside the six-yard box but, with the goal at his mercy, he somehow turned his shot wide of the post. Minutes later, Quine’s strike partner AJ Suckling received a quickly-taken throw-in before cutting in from the right and curling a superb left-footed effort goalwards, only for it to clear the bar by inches.
The hosts then came close to regaining the lead after some good build-up play which began in their own half but Chris Blackburn was denied by Cellamare who raced off his line to clear the danger at the last second. Mills almost punished the hosts on the break again soon after when Suckling released Cain but this time he was denied by the Saints shot-stopper while at the other end of the pitch player/manager Nick Hurt went close with a rasping drive that fizzed just off target.
Hurt was again involved in the thick of the action on the stroke of half-time when he burst forward from defence before playing a brilliant eye-of-the-needle pass through the Mills back four to Peace. However, his angled drive trickled agonizingly just wide of the goal so the sides went in at the break level.
The game continued in much the same vein for the opening throes of the second half, with neither side willing to give ground, but the game was turned on its head around the hour mark.
Mills’ Kenny Magee surged into the box and felt he was fouled but referee Huw Matthews was having none of it and signalled for a corner. However, from the resultant set-piece St John’s failed to clear their lines, resulting in the ball eventually falling at the feet of Suckling who made no mistake in firing the ball home through a crowded penalty area.
Just two minutes later, the visitors doubled their lead in fine fashion. With the hosts pushing for an immediate response to the goal they left themselves exposed at the back and, following a Saints free-kick which was hacked clear, Cain picked up the ball in his own half.
Using his pace to devastating effect, the winger easily sprang clear of the remaining St John’s players before surging into the box and sliding the ball past Burgess into the net to spark wild scenes of celebration from the visitors.
With 70 minutes played it was almost 4-1 when another quick counter saw Cain being released but he was denied a hat-trick as Burgess somehow turned his fierce drive over the bar.
Any hopes of a comeback from St John’s were severely dashed moments later when they were reduced to 10 men. Andy Glover was penalized for a clumsy but accidental foul near the halfway line and Huw Matthews showed him a yellow. However, the Saints captain reacted furiously to the decision and was subsequently given his marching orders for using foul and abusive language towards the official.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, the hosts went close to reducing the deficit six minutes from time when Sam Ingham rose highest to meet a corner but his header cannoned back off the bar and was eventually cleared to safety.
Mills should have added another goal late on when Suckling beat the hosts’ offside trap but, with just the keeper to beat, he contrived to blast the ball well over the bar. However, it did not matter as the damage had already been done and Union Mills were able to see out an impressive victory to progress to the next round.
St John’s: Gary Burgess, Eric Kelly, Sam Ingham, John Wrigley, Kevin Shimell, Chris Blackburn (Brett Kitching 71m), Krasmir Stoev (Nick Leung 62m), Nick Hurt, Andy Glover (c), Stephen Glover, Michael Peace. Sub not used: Wes Kitching
Union Mills: Christian Cellamare, James, Cannell, William Miller (Michael Nash 45m), Chris Kelly, Dan Woznica, Karl Dobbin (c), Kenny Magee (Craig Ennett 88m), Gareth Logan, AJ Suckling (Lee Christian 88m), Steven Quine, Matthew Cain
Referee: Huw Matthews
Assistants: David Murphy and Glenn Weir
Booked: Woznica (Mills), Hurt and Kelly (St John’s)
Sent off: Andy Glover (St John’s)
Man of the Match: Matthew Cain (Mills) - match-winning performance from the visiting winger. Caused St John’s problems with his pace throughout
Match rating: HHHII