Football Association Trophy First Qualifying Round - THE MATCH

Ossett Town 1-2 Willenhall Town

Jamall Pinnock 23

Sean Pugh 58

Aaron Hollindrake 82

'Bonus Pinned!' - Official Match Report

Willenhall Town defied all odds as they upset Unibond Premier Division side Ossett Town to progress in the FA Trophy.
Going into the match with just 12 fit players, Willenhall found themselves up against it early on as firstly Danny Forrest struck a shot straight at keeper Steve Jackson. 5 minutes later John Douglas headed an effort just over the bar.
After weathering the initial storm Willenhall found their feet in the match through striker Jamall Pinnock. On 19 minutes a through ball set Pinnock clean through on goal, but home keeper Liam Sutcliffe spotted the danger early and was quickly off his line to save at feet.
Pinnock was not to be denied and gave Willenhall the lead on 23 minutes. A fine ball over the top by Terrance Morton set Pinnock clear again, this time he decided to lob Sutcliffe, with the ball landing in the top right hand corner.
5 minutes later Pinnock could have doubled his tally. The ball fell to him at the far post but his shot was saved by Sutcliffe.
Ossett came close to an equaliser on 33 minutes as Forrest went close again with a header, following a free kick from the left. Whilst two minutes later, Douglas fired an effort straight at Jackson.

Half time: Ossett 0 Willenhall 1

Willenhall threatened early in the second half as Pinnock almost got onto the end of an excellent cross by Sean Pugh, whilst some good build up play set up Phil Murphy, who lobbed just over the bar, and on 51 minutes, an excellent cross field ball by Morton set up Pugh, who saw his effort saved.
For Ossett, Andrew Lee went close, as his shot from the edge of the area went just over the bar, but on 58 minutes, Willenhall looked to have sealed the win as they doubled their lead. Pugh did well to control a high ball out on the left wing, before dribbling his way into the area and hitting a fierce drive into the roof of the net from 12 yards.
The last half hour saw Ossett throw the proverbial kitchen sink at Willenhall to avoid the upset. An excellent cross from Dominic Riordan narrowly missed a crowd of players and went wide, whilst on 67 minutes a long throw into the area saw Adam Jones head just wide.
James Riordan hit a free kick wide on 72 minutes, and in an increasingly rare foray forward for Willenhall, Sam Wills played the ball through to Pinnock, but his shot went into the side netting.
Inside the last 10 minutes, space was hard to come by for the Ossett strike force due to good marking by Shaun Griffiths and Chris Porter, but Lee did manage to wiggle free and shoot just wide on 81 minutes.
A minute later Ossett finally broke the Willenhll resistance, as a looping header from Aaron Hollindrake found its way in from inside the area.
With the wind in their sails Chris Fisher bombed forward to get on the end of a clearance from the Willenhall area, and from 25 yards he hit a rising drive which just curled away from goal at the last moment.
The Willenhall goal was again threatened on 87 minutes as a good cross from Ross Hardaker saw an acrobatic bicycle kick from Domanic Riordan fly just over.
With a last minute counter attack, Willenhall found themselves three on one, but despite Pinnock and Morton efforts the ball wouldn’t go into the net, but seconds later it wouldn’t matter as Willenhall held on for victory.

Ossett line-up: Sutcliffe, Hay, Fisher, Clayton, Nettleton, J. Riordan, Jones (Hardaker), Hall, Douglas (D. Riordan), Forrest (Hollindrake), Lee.

Willenhall line-up: Jackson, Roofe, Robinson, Porter, Griffiths, Wills, Murphy, Morton, Pinnock, Pugh (Curtis), Ryan.

Attendance: 91

NOTE: - Following the success in the First Qualifying Round of the Football Association Trophy on saturday afternoon, Willenhall Town will host Zamzaretto Premier Division outfit; Nuneaton Town at Noose Lane on Saturday 31st October 2009 in the Second Qualifying Round of the competition.