Heys bow out of Macron Cup on penalties

ALSAGER TOWN 0 PRESTWICH HEYS 0 (Alsager win 3-2 on penalties)

Report by Rick Barrett

It was penalty joy for North West Counties Division One South side Alsager Town in the Macron Cup Quarter Final against Prestwich Heys yesterday after a disappointing 0-0 draw at the Wood Park Stadium on Saturday.

Heys came into this one on the back of two defeats in the League so would have been welcoming of the distraction of the Cup. They welcomed back Kyle Jacobs from injury and it was also good to see Dylan Fitzgerald featuring on the bench after returning to the club last week.

It was the hosts who started the quicker and enjoyed all the early possession but without creating any chances. Heys first effort was on seventeen minutes when Rio Wilson-Heyes put a cross in, but it evaded the incoming Matt Davies.

It was an early substitution for Prestwich on twenty-seven minutes when midfielder Danny White limped off replaced by Joe Wainwright. As the visitors were trying to get a foothold in a scrappy half a lovely cross from Pa Jenkins found Davies but his shot was cleared by the Alsager defence.

As this uneventful half came to a close Heys captain Aaron Chalmers was sin binned for ten minutes for comments made to the referee and the teams went off at half time without managing a single shot on target between them.

The rain started to hammer down as the teams came back out for the second half and the midfield scrap continued and eyebrows were raised on fifty-five minutes as substitute Wainwright, who only came on for Prestwich midway through the first half, was himself replaced by Mitch Bryant.

Alsager fired a half chance wide on sixty-three minutes and shortly after the returning Fitzgerald replaced Rio Wilson-Heyes for the visitors.

Prestwich started to up the gears in the last twenty minutes and looked the more likely. Fitzgerald fired over on seventy-nine minutes and finally six minutes later managed the first effort on target, a close-range effort from Aaron Chalmers, easily saved by keeper Jacob Kirwan.

Heys were now well on top as the game grew to a close and they missed a big chance to win it four minutes from time. A great ball over from Davies found Fitzgerald, six yards out on the left, but he blazed his shot over the bar when he looked certain to score.

As five minutes injury time was awarded by the referee, Bryant on the right fired wide bringing an end to a poor game in awful conditions. So, it was straight to penalties and after Matt Davies and Aaron Chalmers scoring Heys first two pens and keeper Russ Saunders (pictured) making a great save, Bryant, Jacobs and Fitzgerald all missed and so it was Jack Wooley who stepped up to convert the winning penalty for a 3-2 shootout win and put the underdogs through.

So, disappointment for Heys who battled hard but struggled in the final third and will want to forget about this one and get back to winning ways in the league as Alsager progress to the semi-Finals.

TEAM: Russell Saunders, Kyle Jacobs, Nathan Emery, Pa Jenkins, Nathan Bartram-Conway, Aaron Chalmers, Gabriel Mooney-Munoz, Danny White, Craig Hobson, Matt Davies, Rio Wilson-Heyes, SUBS: Brad Sullivan (for Hobson 71 mins), Saidkhon Khamidov, Joe Wainwright (for White 27 mins), Dylan Fitzgerald (for Wilson-Heyes (64 mins), Mitch Bryant (for Wainwright 55 mins)