FA CUP EXTRA PRELIMINARY ROUND
SATURDAY 15TH AUGUST 2015
VERWOOD TOWN 2 NEWPORT 0

The first break on goal belonged to Newport in a scrappy opening spell. A long ball down the left, a good cross but to no avail as Lynch reached the ball first to make a good catch.

Mid field remained unemployed for a while as the ball was worked down the flanks and occasionally long balls down the middle. It wasn't for the purists.

10 minutes gone and Newport's pressure finished with another cross from the left but this time the move had followers in the box. Up went Lynch again to make an excellent catch surrounded by opposition.

We gradually got into the game with the ball being worked through the middle. Gajic was the architect of a move down the left. Mills dummied his marker and floated a cross. Wood went high but planted his header over the bar.

Fisk was coming more into the game and with a sparkling run down the right, linked with Groves sending in a dipping ball onto the spot. Wood went for the ball but defenders cleverly blocked access.

18 minutes and consistent pressure paid off with a corner. Mills sent in an inswinger and up went Donachy to put a glancing header into the roof of the net. 1-0.

We had to weather a few minutes of retaliation but our back four was well marshalled and absorbed attacks from the flanks plus coping adequately with high crosses.

Brimson blocked a cross near the flag and made progress down the left. Mills cut inside for the pass and spotting Groves chipped the defender. Groves crossed but too deep for Fisk.

15 minutes to go and Brimson again sparked a move with Groves. Groves' lob into the box found Gajic but the Newport defence had closed ranks and successfully blocked the volley.

Newport was now into an attacking mode. A great piece of football won a corner. The ball went to the edge of the area, away from Lynch. The header thumped our cross bar and bounced free.

Our response came with 3 minutes left when Groves slipped the ball through defenders for Mills to crack a left footer for goal. The ball flew over the bar.

Half Time 1-0.

We had a similar start to the second half as we had with the first. A scrappy opening spell. Newport had the edge for a while with good running and making more accurate passes than us.

Dyer brought a better flow to our game with moves along the deck. Wood took a good through ball on to his left foot and delivered a cross field ball to Mills. Another good cross was just too far for Fisk to get to.

Gajic had to drop a bit deeper to challenge Newport's mid field traffic and a couple of hand bags were flourished as challenges became a bit more feisty.

65 minutes and Fisk came off to give Aaron Atkinson a run up front.

Atkinson's first touch was wide right. A quick break down the right flank and a cross found Groves but a shot on the turn hit the side netting.

We were edging play. Wood sent Mills clear on the left and a pass inside gave Gajic a look at goal. The keeper made a good save low to his right.

Dyer tried a shot at goal from a free kick and then Donachy put a header over the bar from a Mills corner.

Kelly and Evans were rock solid absorbing counter attacks and with a no nonsense Donachy operating alongside Kelly we looked worth our lead.

Brimson was enjoying a new lease of life as space opened up. Working the flank with Atkinson and Groves Brimson cut inside a marker and unleashed a good shot, but finished with disappointment etched on his face as the ball was blocked just inside the box.

Counter attacks were inevitable as we pushed up. Lynch was outstanding with his dominance in between the sticks.

15 minutes to go. Donachy cleared the ball wide to Brimson, on to Gajic out to Mills. A deep cross found Wood on the edge of the area. A good touch brought the ball under control enabling a right foot shot to fire across the keeper into the bottom corner of the net. 2-0.

80 minutes gone and on came McGlchrist for Mills.

A terrific shot from Newport almost reduced arrears as they broke centrally. Lynch went full length to palm the ball away.

Groves made way for Murray with 4 minutes left. It was a move between McGilchrist and Murray that almost gave us a third but excellent anticipation from the Newport Keeper read the final shot and safe hands kept the score at 2-0.

The referee had recorded 5 minutes of stoppage time but when he finally employed the whistle we had a successful score line of 2-0, sending us into the next round of the F A Cup

Result 2-0