Narrow cup win for 10-man Deverills

12:51pm Monday 6th October 2008

The Deverills struggled to beat lower league opposition in the first round of the Pied Piper Promotions-sponsored A and B Cup, but did enough to scrape through 1-0 against Foresters, despite going down to 10 men in the first half.

The victory ensures The Deverills are still competing in three competitions and have yet to concede a goal.

The Deverills made only one change, with Sean Holton in for the injured Marc Sprangle, whose open goal miss from last week is still weighing heavy on his mind.

The conditions were better suited for flying a kite than playing football and the Deverills, after winning the toss, opted to play into the wind for the first half. With the wind in their sails the young Foresters side had the Deverills under pressure. The Deverills failed to create many openings, and when chances did present themselves, the Foresters goalkeeper dealt with them routinely.

A moment of madness 10 minutes before half time saw the Deverills reduced to 10 men, when Damien Holton saw a straight red for his part in a melee.

With the wind in their favour in the second half, The Deverills nearly took the lead in the first minute after the break, nice work down the right between Holton, Fellowes and Payne forcing a good save from the Foresters keeper. It took another 20 minutes and a shuffling of his team before The Deverills got the goal they needed to progress. The Deverills won a free kick on the left which was expertly whipped in by Gary Lewis (on for Sean Holton) and met with a strong near post header by Bunyard for his fifth goal of the campaign.

The Deverills next fixture puts them back in league action away against third placed Steeple Ashton on October 11. Ashton have played three, won two and lost one so far in the league, and should provide a stern test to the Deverills to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

St Andrews, Winsley, won their preliminary round replay thanks against Bromham Reserves thanks to an own goal scored in the first half.

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