Andy Wilkins reports…
Saturday 5th August 2017 – Southchurch Park, Southend
My first ever FA Cup Extra-Preliminary round tie saw me visit Southchurch Park for the first time in 10 days to see Southend Manor vs Wroxham.
Manor came into this game off a 1-0 win away against Hullbridge Sports in their opening league match whilst Wroxham are yet to start their league campaign this season.
The two sides haven’t met before so this is their first encounter with Wroxham relegated last season from the Isthmian League North.
It was the Eastern Counties side that started off the better with a lot of good passing on display. Shaun Taylor was the first player to go in and make an attempt when 2 minutes in, he managed to dribble into the Manor half and went past multiple players before being given a free kick in response to a tackle being made. That free kick subsequently went wide.
A few minutes later and Manor had their first opportunity at goal when a strike went across goal before a retaliation from Wroxham came a few minutes afterwards in the 12th minute when they had a clear chance on goal, before one of their attackers was brought down in the penalty area, even though it looked like they had dribbled the ball off before falling onto the pitch. They pleaded with the referee to give a penalty but he had none of it.
Manor’s best opportunity of the half came in the 21st minute when Joe Skeels took a curling free kick which was saved by the Wroxham keeper Will Viner only for it to come back out for Southend Manor’s Callum Jex to regain possession and then make a low-footed effort at a short-range distance at the Wroxham goal. Again, this was deflected by Viner who got the Wroxham defence to cancel out the goal threat again.
Wroxham proceeded to have two good chances in consecutive minutes. The first following a good overhead pass when deep in the Manor box, Joe Manning smashed it wide from just the border of the penalty area, and then having their best chance of the game when Adam Smith dribbled the ball into the Manor half who then placed it into the possession of Robbie Sweeney who dribbled on the left to cross it into Ross Gilfedder who headered the ball just wide.
After that opportunity, the rest of the first half calmed down entirely with both teams displaying good defensive football despite the odd challenge going in every now and again. At half time, Wroxham just about had the edge in the game.
The second half continued how the first had ended with a quiet start and it generally wasn’t until the 60thminute when the first major opportunity came to Joe Skeels, who drilled a shot in the Wroxham half from 30 yards out into the palms of Viner again.
In repetitive fashion, Wroxham retaliated with another attack and Manor goalkeeper Klinton Makayabo was in good form throughout the whole of the half. In the 72nd minute, they appealed for a penalty again following a 3 on 1 battle with the ball going out alongside Sweeney.
A few minutes later and Manor still weren’t out of the dark as Wroxham made a fantastic advance with 2 shots hitting the post alongside Sweeney missing the target from a close-range shot. Manor scuffed the ball away and were very lucky.
A few minutes later and Harley Black managed a shot this time for Wroxham which hit the post from 25 years with Makayabo putting a little touch to put it onto the post. It did look destined to go in from where I was standing.
12 minutes later saw the decisive moment. A massive long ball from Jex came into the reach of Concord Rangers loanee Bayley Newell who slotted the ball home from a close-range into the bottom left corner. That was the golden goal for Manor and it secured the game for them with 2 minutes plus added time to play.
Wroxham did try to quickly work their way back to getting an equaliser, but Manor were having none of it as they cleared the ball throughout the final few minutes of the game.
The final whistle went and it was met with cheers by the fans of Manor knowing this is their 2nd FA Cup win in 5 years, whilst this was Wroxham’s first ever defeat at this stage of the competition at the 23rd attempt. Manor will play Eastern Counties League side Gorleston in the Preliminary Round in 2 weeks time at Southchurch Park after they defeated Stanway Rovers 4-2 away on the same day.
Stuart Marshall’s side now go again next weekend when they return to life in the Essex Senior League making the short trip up to Burroughs Park to take on Iain O’Connell’s Great Wakering Rovers in what will be my first league game of the season at Burroughs Park, whilst Wroxham host Great Yarmouth Town on Tuesday night in their first league game of the season.
Many thanks to Southend Manor for their fantastic hospitality as always and I wish both teams all the best for the season.
