Eccleshill United 1, Armthorpe Welfare 3
Eccleshill will not be in the draw for the third round of the FA Vase after coming up against a strong outfit from a higher division at the Rapid Solicitors Stadium yesterday.
Armthorpe Welfare may only be one step above the Eagles on the non-league ladder but they do have a vastly more experienced squad.
That was highlighted as one of their scorers was former Manchester United and Bradford City winger Ben Muirhead.
The home side’s dreams of a Wembley final were left in tatters as the Doncaster outfit imposed themselves on the tie.
They took a slender lead into the break after Joe Lumsden had given Welfare the lead midway through the first half.
Muirhead’s strike just over four minutes after the interval ended the tie as a contest, and an own goal from Eccleshill centre back Jermaine Springer added to the home side’s woes.
They did grab a consolation goal through Marcus Edwards nine minutes from time.
Eagles’ manager Ian Banks, who was assistant to Nicky Law when Muirhead was with the Bantams, said: “We had a good last 20 minutes but it was too late by then. They were the better team but only on the day.
“I think we have a good squad here but we underperformed. It’s the old cliché - we can concentrate on the league now.
"I’m not making light of it, it’s just that we deserved to go out because we didn’t match them in all areas.”
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