March To The Arch: Game 3: Brentwood Town v Aylesbury United

The First Qualifying Round of the F.A.Cup was played out on Saturday. In our cup Tracker 'March to the Arch' we were following the tie between Brentwood Town and Aylesbury United.

Brentwood of course play in the Ryman League Division 1 North and going into the game at the weekend were favourites to Aylesbury due to being 1 level above them in the football league pyramid. Aylesbury who play in the Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier Division were through to this round after beating Eton Manor in the previous round and travelled to face Brentwood in hope of at least getting a replay. It was an important game for both sides with £3000 in prize money for the winners, which at this level is a great little bonus for both teams.

We've taken the report directly from Brentwood's website which is http://www.brentwoodtownfc.co.uk/.

Brentwood Town sailed through into the 2nd qualifying round of the FA cup on Saturday after a comfortable 4-0 victory over Aylesbury United of the Molten Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier Division at the Brentwood Arena.

It took Les Whitton’s men 3 minutes to assert their authority on the game after Danny Dafter forced a good save from Aylesbury’s goalkeeper Matthew Timberlake from 25 yards out.

Brentwood should have taken the lead 2 minutes after when Anthony Ryan latched onto a slack back-pass from Aylesbury defender Lea Coulter. The striker was however unable to convert after some good work from ‘keeper Timberlake.

Aylesbury's best opportunity of the half came after only just 8 minutes. Brentwood goalkeeper Andy Hall did very well to get down low and keep out a shot from Aylesbury striker Ben Baines who unleashed a strike from just inside the penalty area.

Brentwood’s Dee Okojie was dominant on the right-side of midfield throughout the half- and proved to be a massive thorn in the side of Aylesbury left-back Justin Gordon. Okojie who appeared on Sky One’s ‘Football Icon’ in 2005, showed a great bit of skill on the 21st minute after cutting inside from the right, and was unlucky to see a 25 yard left-footed effort sail over the bar which Timberlake could get nowhere near.

Just after the half-hour mark, Brentwood defender Nikki Beale saw a header expertly cleared off of the line by Aylesbury' Jack Wood. The powerfully-built centre-half leapt well to connect with a Nicholas Muir corner, but could not see the ball past the head of the Aylesbury midfielder.

Beale was involved in yet another opportunity 1 minute later, this time connecting with his head from a Dee Okojie cross. The midfielder delivered a great ball to the far-post, but Beale could not do enough to beat Timberlake and put his side ahead.

The deadlock was broken 5 minutes before the half-time break after Aylesbury’s Lea Coulter handled inside his own penalty area. Ellis Remy stepped up to convert the penalty, slotting the ball into the left side of Timberlake’s net to give Brentwood a deserved lead.

Brentwood was soon firmly in the ascendance when Danny Dafter headed in from the 6-yard box on 43 minutes, after another good delivery from Dee Okojie. The midfielder towered-high to nod the ball past Timberlake- ensuring a 2-0 lead for his side going into the half-time break.

With the second half underway, Aylesbury looked to be the brighter of the two teams. Midfielder Jack Wood had a great opportunity on 49 minutes, but could not convert a Will Smith cross past Brentwood’s Andy Hall.

On 53 minutes Brentwood had a third goal disallowed by referee Paul Harris. Midfielder Nicholas Muir did well to cut in from the left and force a save from Matthew Timberlake from 20 yards out, who parried the ball into the path of Brentwood’s Lea Coulter. The defender calmly slotted the ball away- but was cut short of his celebrations after being deemed to be in an off-side position when the initial shot was taken.

Brentwood had yet another goal disallowed on 73 minutes. Second-half substitute Dean Green was unlucky to see his effort ruled-out after the ball seemed to hit the hand of Lea Coulter during the build-up play.

The home-team was soon 3-0 up after 73 minutes. A great bit of play between Ross Parmenter and Danny Dafter saw Anthony Ryan beat the offside-trap and latch onto a lovely through ball from the midfielder. The forward coolly slotted the ball past Timberlake with his left foot from just inside the area.

Matthew Timberlake was again called into action for Aylesbury and did well to keep out a close range effort from Brentwood’s Petrit Elbi. After not long being on the field, the Albanian-born striker was picked out by a low cross from Joe Stevens. Timberlake was quick-off-the-line to dispossess the forward- preventing his side from slipping even further behind.

Timberlake was however unable to do anything about Brentwood’s final goal. Another cross from midfielder Joe Steven’s caused a lot of confusion in the Aylesbury box, with defender Lea Coulter sliding the ball into his own net on 88 minutes putting Brentwood 4-0 up in the tie.

The final whistle was blown on Aylesbury’s F.A cup campaign which had lasted 3 games and reflected a strong performance from Brentwood. The away-side never had a chance to get into the game- and a lot of good play by Brentwood ensured that they secured a place in the 2nd qualifying round draw and a chance to earn even money (an estimated £4500) in the next round. In the next round, Brentwood will face Ryman Premier side AFC Hornchurch away.

As ever a report on the game will be up on our blog over that weekend so we can find who has progressed through to the fourth stage of the march to the arch.

Match Details:
Brentwood: Andy Hall, Reiss Noel, Darren Blewitt, Ross Parmenter, Nikki Beale, Danny Dafter, Dee Okojie, Nicholas Muir, Ellis Remy (Dean Green 66), Anthony Ryan (Petrit Elbi 75), Joao Carlos (Joe Stevens 75)

Goals
Brentwood Town 1 Aylesbury 0 (Ellis Remy 40pen)
Brentwood Town 2 Aylesbury 0 (Danny Dafter 43)
Brentwood Town 3 Aylesbury 0 (Anthony Ryan 73)
Brentwood Town 4 Aylesbury 0 (Lee Coulter 88og)