Beaconsfield U18’s should feel proud after giving everything in their pursuit of a place in the FA Youth Cup 1st round. They will also have been left feeling incredibly aggrieved to have lost the game 1-0 to Merstham after late drama overshadowed the game.
It was an even start to the game, with flashes of brilliance from Beaconsfield’s Mcdonald – Baptiste in the opening 10 minutes. Beaconsfield were the team on top for much of the first 20 minutes, limiting Merstham to a few half chances on the counter.
Merstham looked to have snatched a lead late in the first half, after seeing Keane in the Beaconsfield goal push a free kick away only for the rebound to be poked home. Beaconsfield’s appeals for offside were backed up by the linesman’s flag and the game remained goalless approaching the break. However, in the closing seconds Merstham found a way through, seeing a long range shot saved, before the ball was smashed home to give them a 1-0 lead entering the interval.
Beaconsfield started the second half well pushing for an equaliser. The was a moment of contention when the referee awarded a free kick inside the Beaconsfield box for an alleged back pass, the resulting free kick well defended as Beaconsfield continued to push for an equaliser.
As the game entered the closing stages Beaconsfield upped the tempo. They looked to have finally found a way back into the game scoring from a corner at the death. The linesman’s flag went up, and despite protests from Beaconsfield’s players and bench, the referee agreed with his assistant and ruled the goal out for an alleged foul on the Merstham keeper, leaving most inside Holloways Park bemused by what had been given.
Beaconsfield’s young stars gave everything they could and would have deserved to see the game go to penalties. Despite exiting the competition, the future certainly looks promising at Beaconsfield, with a couple of the youngsters already having been in and around the clubs first team.
By Arran White