ROYSTON TOWN FC v MILDENHALL TOWN FC

Saturday 4^th September 2021

Royston were humbled by step 5 Mildenhall as they were dumped out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle.

There was no hint of the shock to come as the Crows started well and were rewarded in the 13th minute, as Isaac Galliford rifled home, following up Matt Bateman’s shot that had been well saved by Josh Pope.

Rather than push on and kill the game off, the Crows retreated and Mildenhall were level 6 minutes later, as a well flighted free-kick into the box by Scott Chaplin was headed home by Dan Brown.

Opportunities from then on were at a premium, as although having a lot of possession, Royston became fairly predictable playing long balls forward and into the box that were easily dealt with by Luke Butcher and Casey Phillips at the heart of the away defence.

What turned out to be the winning goal arrived in the 79th minute as Darryl Coakley’s deflected free-kick wrong-footed Joe Welch in the home goal, nestling in the far corner, much to the delight of the vocal travelling fans.

The Crows were handed a golden opportunity to take the tie to a replay, but Harry Draper’s 89th penalty was easily saved by Pope who was also alert to save the follow-up effort from Adam Murray.

The home side continued to press, as Butcher headed a James Brighton cross off the line and Makai Murray’s goalbound shot was deflected wide. The ensuing corner kick saw Adam Murray’s header saved by Pope, with the follow-up header from Spyros Mentis just clearing the crossbar, completing a miserable afternoon for the Crows.

Royston: 1-Welch, 7-Titchmarsh, 14-Brighton, 5-Murray A ©, 2-Asafu-Adjaye, 4-Bridges, 19-Mentis, 16-Rotimi (12-Murray M 65), 9-Adams (17-Willams 70), 10-Bateman (8-Draper 61), 11-Galliford

Unused: 3-Brathwaite, 15-Brown, 17-Towner, 20-Newton