Greenways FC - FA Vase First Round Proper

There was no chance we would underestimate our opponents Greenways FC from a tier lower than us as this was one-off cup football, decided on the day with extra-time and penalties if required. We were also playing on their artificial pitch which did mean after all the rain we could play the fixture.

In the first minute Jay Simpson put a cross into their box from the left. A minute later Richie Wetton had a shot from the right of their box that was saved. The resulting corner was scrambled away for a corner from the other side but that was taken out by the wind. Greenways won a free kick on the edge of our box on 5mins that was floated in but then put over the bar. 2 minutes later they had another free kick on the edge of the box that also ended up clearing the bar. In response the lads pushed forward and Simpson fired in a good shot from the left that was tipped over. Nothing came of the resulting corner. On 12mins Jimmy Williams was put clear on the right and advancing into the box opted to cross to the left rather than shoot. Simpson was beaten by the bounce of the ball.

From then on it was a struggle as we could not find any fluency against a determined team. The ball spent a lot of time in the air as the lads struggled to create any chances. It had a similar feel to when we played Tooting Bec from the same league. On 21mins Greenways had a shot from the left edge of the box but it flew past the righthand post. Then on 32mins a reckless challenge on Tyrone Magala-Bryan by their No. 7 resulted in him being shown a straight red card. Down to ten men, Greenways were still keeping it a close contest but on 40mins Rhyan ‘Rambo’ Ramsay won the ball, pushed forward, crossed to Simpson who beat the keeper for 1-0. That’s how it remained at halftime.

The second half started slowly but the first chance fell to Greenways on 8mins with a shot from outside the box that was gathered by Jack Webb-Olley. On 14mins Greenways won the ball on the right and a low ball into our box was collected and fired into the bottom right corner of our net for 1-1. The goal spurred Greenways on but they couldn’t create any clear chances. Linfield made a first change to replace Daniel Harvey with Alec Campbell. On 17mins Haydn Dickinson floated a free kick forward that Wetton collected but his shot flew just wide of the left post. On 25mins Wetton won the ball and played it across to Simpson on the right. He made space for a shot that was saved but rebounded out to Williams on the left who could not direct it clear of the keeper. Williams had a chance again minutes later - his shot was saved but he was clattered right after which some may have considered worth a penalty. The Lingers were starting to put their game together and Ramsay had a shot that was deflected over the bar. The resulting corner was headed over.

A second change saw Jamal Robinson-Davis come on for Jimmy Williams. On 30mins Stephen Hodge won the ball on the right and pushed forward to have a shot off target. Robinson-Davis was soon in the action with a good run down the left to the bye-line and his ball into the box found Simpson whose shot was saved for a corner. On 33mins a throw was headed on to Wetton who hit the side netting with his shot. In the next minute Campbell won the ball in our half, rode a challenge and then played a wonderful ball forward to Simpson. In a perfectly timed run, he was clear and slipped the ball past the keeper for his second goal and a 2-1 lead. On 38mins it was game over when a throw from the left from Wetton was headed on to Simpson for his hattrick and 3-1. Ramsay was replaced by Albie Garland for our final change. On 43mins Simpson had a shot blocked that fell to Wetton, who had his shot blocked. The rebound fell to Simpson for another shot that was deflected out for a corner. The resulting corner was cleared out to the left and Garland. With a superb touch, he curled the ball up and over the crowded box into the top left corner of the goal for 4-1 in fine style. As the game entered added time, Greenways had a shot over the bar and shortly after Webb-Olley came out to block a ball into the box along the bye-line. The final action was a good run by Robinson-Davis down the left and into the box but he couldn’t find a finish. Hard work and not at our best for long periods, but we advance to the draw for the Second Round for the first time since the 2014-15 competition.