10 man Atherton came from behind to knock in-form Darwen out of the Vodkat League Cup. Darwen took the lead when Ed O'Neill slotted home a 35th minute penalty.The Salmoners failed to double their lead before half time when they were awarded a second penalty which O'Neill sent wide of the left post.
Even though Premier Division Atherton decided to rest some of their first team regulars few expected the home side would be trailing at half time. After the break both sides had good chances to score but nobody was able to find the back of the net until the final 10 minutes of the game.
When Atherton LR were reduced to 10 men when Jonathan Bullough was sent off following a seond bookable offence it seemed like Darwen were odds on for continuing their fine form. However, an unmarked Paul Crompton drew the home side level on 81 minutes when he connected with a Dominic Smalley cross.
With extra time drawing ever closer Atherton secured the win with a controversial winner when Daniel Smith squared the ball to Howard despite appeals from the Darwen defence for offside.
Darwen may feel unlucky not to have knocked their Premier League rivals out of the cup in this second round tie but they can be pleased with their performance.
Their next game is an away league fixture against AFC Blackpool on Tuesday 18th November followed by a home game versus Wigan Robin Park on Saturday 22 November.
No comments:
Post a Comment