Rainworth 2 Kimberley Town
1
Notts Senior Cup round I
Report by Gordon Foster
RAINWORTH progressed into the second round of
the Senior Cup but made hard work of beating strugglers
Kimberley Town.
The Wrens had enough of the play to have won
handsomely, but had to rely on an 89th-minute
winner by man of the match Lee Hunt to seal the
victory.
Sam Betts fired Welfare into a
13th-minute lead, but the Stags made them pay for
not turning their territorial advantage into goals when Abdul
Ahmed found an equaliser eight minutes into the second
half.
Wrens manager Rudy Funk rang the changes,
giving Graham Louden his first start and bringing in Barry
Alberry for his first appearance of the season, while Lance
Mulligan returned after a six-week ban held over from last
season to form a three-pronged attack with Sam Betts and
Jamie Hardwick.
Rainworth poured forward from the start and
in only the second minute Hardwick looked questioningly at
the referee after going down in the box under Keith Ward’s
challenge.
Kris Seymour did well to dispossess Camaron
Hussain as he cut in in the Stags’ first sortie forward, but
a minute later Hunt’s header onto a Ben Cobley free kick
cannoned off a defender, hit keeper Naveed Ahmed on the line,
and rebounded to safety.
Rainworth’s 13th-minute lead
looked inevitable. Mulligan put Hardwick in one on one with
the keeper who made the save, but the ball was not cleared,
Seymour played it back into the six yard box from the right,
and Betts was on hand to fire it in.
Five minutes later the injured Seymour was
replaced by Craig Beastall, but for most of the rest of the
first half it was one way traffic, and Rainworth should have
turned round well clear.
But their old failing of not killing off
inferior opposition manifested itself
again.
Cobley was not far wide with a low 30-yard
effort, and when the wing back swung in a free kick Danny
Naylor just failed to connect. The ball was half cleared to
Mulligan who sliced well wide.
The Wrens had strong penalty claims turned
down in the 28th minute when Hussain clearly
pushed Hardwick off the ball.
A rare Stags attack saw Hales save
comfortably from Tony Mead’s shot on the turn, but Danny
Naylor scorned another good opportunity after Beastall’s
initial effort was parried by the keeper.
And Alberry’s free header from Lee
Wilkinson’s free kick was just too high in stoppage time at
the end of the half.
Three minutes into the restart Betts drilled
a low cross into the six yard box but it was just too far
ahead of Hardwick.
Four minutes later Rainworth paid the price
for their missed chances when Kimberley got an equaliser
almost out of nothing, Abdul Ahmed steering in Bjon Taylor’s
cross.
Hardwick was unlucky not to restore the lead
two minutes later with a 20-yard dipper that hit the
bar.
Taylor was looking increasingly menacing for
the visitors, and both Wilkinson and Alberry were booked for
professional fouls as he burst through the defence. From the
first of the resulting free kicks Mark Hales had to claw away
Keith Ward’s direct shot at full stretch at his left hand
post.
That stirred the home side to redouble their
efforts, but their finishing continued to be
wayward.
However, Hales had to fist clear twice in
quick succession in the 62nd minute, the second
time at the expense of a corner.
That was cleared upfield and Mulligan raced
in on goal, only to see Ahmed save with his
legs.
Hunt just managed to thwart another strong
run on goal by Taylor in the 85th minute, and four
minutes later he was there at the other end to hit home the
winner from Cobley’s corner.
In stoppage time Hunt glanced a header wide
from another Cobley cross, and Hardwick put a free header
well wide.
But the cheers from the Wrens fans at the end
of five minutes of stoppage time were as much of relief as of
joy.
RAINWORTH: Hales, Seymour (Beastall 18),
Cobley, Wilkinson, Alberry, Hunt, Louden, Naylor, Hardwick,
Mulligan (R. Clarke 79), Betts (Sisson 86). Subs not used: C.
Roche, Place.
KIMBERLEY: N. Ahmed, Passo, Akram, Ward,
Miaha, Faraha, C. Hussain (Robinson 56), Nkomo (G. Taylor
76), B. Taylor, Mead (Dawkins 90+4). A. Ahmed. Subs not used:
T. Hussain, Gordon.
REFEREE: Andrew Smith of
Nottingham
MAN OF THE MATCH: Lee
Hunt.