It was heartbreak for Canterbury City as they pushed higher league Corinthian FC all the way to a sudden death penalty shoot-out before blinking first and allowing their opponents through to the next round!
In what was probably one of their best performances of the season so far, they fought back from going behind, then survived probably the most ridiculous sending off of the season so far that left them down to ten men and even came back from going nil-two down in the shootout only to fall at the final hurdle, exiting the competition this time around at the first attempt.
It was an exciting and enthralling match that City really deserved to win and looking back, the visitors should be greatly indebted to their keeper Nathan Boaman for some outstanding stops that actually kept his side in the game and got them to the penalties.
City started the game positively and in the opening minutes saw two headers on the stretch from Danny Keyte and Luke Illsley both go off target from a brace of free-kicks, while the visitors responded with a couple of corners safely dealt with by the City defence and a shot on the run from Jack Unwin which was very well cleared by Keyte.
The visitors were enjoying a brief spell of pressure as Sam Fitzgerald headed over at the far post while Josh Brooker ended a single-handed attack by firing straight at City keeper Tom Benham from a narrow angle. The hosts rode through that though and were beginning to knock on the Corinthian door as Rob Lawrence tried an opportunist long range lob over Boaman that also cleared the bar, while Luka Radojevic saw his low effort comfortably saved by the keeper.
Benham did well to cut out a dangerous looking corner from Jamie Billings, while Radojevic dived in with a great block to deny former City player Amin Gorgol’s effort on goal.
On thirty-three minutes, Charlie Clover surged through the City ranks but with a clear sight of goal, fired well over the bar, while at the other end, Boaman pulled off a smart save diving across to clutch out of the air a Teddy Nelson goal-bound header.
Just four minutes later, City really should have taken the lead when a clever turn from Monty Saunders found him a foot of space and he drilled in a low cross which Boaman seemed to have control of but then spilled and the ball popped out in front of a rather surprised Harry Bradford, who with Boaman on the floor, could only react hurriedly to scoop the ball up and over the bar.
Another two minutes on and this time Illsley hammered a shot that took the slightest of deflections but was still arrowing for the top corner before Boaman leapt across and somehow pawed the ball out from just under the bar with a superb one-handed flying save. From the resulting corner, City again went close as Lawrence had a shot blocked and Illsley sent a volley wide.
City were clearly in the ascendency and therefore it was agonisingly against the run of play when Corinthian took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Ahmed Salim Futa weaved his way inside the City box and was afforded just a bit too much space before he fired the ball into the far side of the net, giving Benham no chance for 0-1.
It was a huge blow for City because they had been the better side over the half as a whole and looked fairly untroubled at the back while on the other hand, they had created the better chances but thus far had been unable to get past Boaman who was looking in sparkling form.
Benham made the first save of the second-half however as he thwarted Brooker, but on forty-eight minutes City equalised. Last week they had conceded when keeper Benham had been injured and was out of the game while Rochester played to the whistle and scored, this week in similar circumstances, the boot was on the other foot as a right sided attack saw two hefty shots fired in by City – both well blocked but seeing defender Fitzgerald floored as he obviously came off worse for wear in his block, but the game continued and within seconds, Leo Dodds had pounced for City to slot the loose ball home for 1-1. To say the visitors were miffed would be an understatement as they protested that the game should have been stopped for the head injury that had been suffered, while after a very lengthy stoppage to receive treatment, Fitzgerald was able to continue and City, after last week’s lesson – play to the whistle, stick the ball in the net and debate it afterwards -were deservedly level!
That seemed to buoy Corinthian up and Luke Evans and Salim Futa soon both had shots blocked in the City box, the latter by one of his own men and then Benham pulled off a great blocking save as the offside flag went up – wouldn’t have counted but it was still a good stop!
City struck straight back though when a Lawrence volley looked bound to sneak inside the post but Boaman came to his side’s rescue again hurrieldy diving across low to shuffle the ball just round the upright before Illsley then headed wide for City, while for Corinthian, Gorgol volleyed over the bar from the edge of the box.
Benham then saved from Adams with a good grasp from a narrow angle shot, as City couldn’t benefit from a couple of corners or a free-kick, while for the visitors – from a good position, Adams overhit a cross to an over-loaded far post leaving two or three team mates stranded as the ball flew well over them and Conor Driscoll hit a dipping shot from forty yards just a couple of feet over the City bar.
On seventy-eight minutes, City were somehow reduced to ten men when Nelson was yellow carded for time-wasting, but having already been booked meant it was red as well for the big defender. Everyone appeared shocked, especially the player and he can feel very hard done by. I must confess that I hadn’t seen the first yellow card he’d been given and judging by the reactions, I don’t think many others had either. Secondly, the referee blew the whistle against him just as he launched the ball forward and thirdly, it is more than fair to say that there had been several indeed many, many other instances within the game where restarts from both sides had taken far longer, so why the referee chose to pick on that particular player at that particular time without previously seeming to have been hurrying things along, is a complete mystery!
Although there was only twelve minutes left on the clock, with the lengthy stoppage earlier, twice that was still to be played so City were now suddenly up against it with a man down. Brandon Davey saw his effort charged down by one of City’s substitutes, Harry Maher, before another replacement Mo Ali struck a cracking volley on the run, that Boaman was again forced to dive down and shovel the ball out for a corner.
Now into the nervous ninety-minute plus zone, City almost stole it when a free-kick on the left was speared in low by Lawrence and almost caught the visitors napping, but yet again Boaman dived down to his right this time to push the ball away as it looked like it was heading in just inside the post! It was end to end stuff now and with penalties looming the nervous nineties became more like the frantic nineties as a shot from Shiloh Apena deflected off Radojevic and fell kindly for Benham, while for City after a great break and pass from Harry O’Donnell, Bradford saw his effort charged down and cleared.
Ali then fired over the Corinthian bar after another break from O’Donnell and Bradford as the visitors seemed intent on prioritising pushing forward rather than keeping the back door shut. A drop ball from the referee saw Lawrence try the most audacious of volleys from forty odd yards out but the ball flew wide, before – now in the eleventh minute of stoppage time, Corinthian had the perfect opportunity to take the tie with a free-kick. Centrally placed and twenty yards out, the City collective held its breath until, after a lot of deliberation, Unwin stepped up and woefully and wastefully – and thankfully, blasted the ball high over the bar.
That was the final action of the match and with no extra-time or replays, we went straight to penalties. Corinthian went first and buried their first two, while Lawrence and Maher both missed for City. Surely there was no way back now, but a great Benham save and a poor effort from Apena that disappeared over the bar and indeed over the stand saw City eventually claw their way back to parity at 3-3 and sudden death. Unwin sent Benham the wrong way to put Corinthian back in front, but with City needing to score, Keyte became the third City player to miss on the day as his effort cleared the bar. This sent a rather bemused and muted Corinthian through to the next round and from the final reactions, they looked as if they may have felt unsurprisingly, very fortunate to have made it through!
Another epic to add to the City/Corinthian tale, but a really hard knock for City who didn’t deserve to lose. They at the very least matched their higher league opponents and at times outplayed them and but for Boaman, would probably have wrapped it up in the ninety minutes and the eventual defeat should not mask the fact that City played really well today but just couldn’t quite get over the line!
Final score: Canterbury City 1 Corinthian 1 – Corinthian win 3-4 on penalties.
City: Tom Benham, Luka Radojevic, Liam Cormack, Danny Keyte, Teddy Nelson, Monty Saunders, Rob Lawrence, Luke Illsley (Harry Maher), Harry Bradford, Nico Cotton (Mo Ali), Leo Dodds (Harry O’Donnell)
Unused Subs: Tim Marapara, Alfie Eyles, Ben Binder, Jake McCarthy