Cup Run Over As Retford Knick Win

Report by William Lavelle.

Ollerton Town failed to progress to the quarter final of the Notts Senior Cup as a 113th minute Retford United goal saw them edge proceedings. The game had penalties written all over it with both sides cancelling each other out but a fortuitous goal deep into extra time saw the game settled before the lottery of spot kicks.
Both teams started the game off in quite subdued fashion but Ollerton had the opening chance as Gav King was played through on goal by Lewis Bingham but a heavy first touch squandered any chance he had of finishing the opportunity.
Both teams struggled to retain possession and create clear cut chances for large portions of the first half due to the significant impact that the windy conditions were having on the game.
Ollerton young 'keeper Jack Dickens was able to save a well struck free kick which looked to be rifling into the top corner and a save from point blank range to deny Lee Betts from a Retford corner kept Ollerton in the game early on.
Ollerton looked to be quite vulnerable from set pieces but neither team really looked to be able to create many significant chances throughout the half and apart from the odd chance for either side the first half was quite a dull affair.
Dave Winter's side looked to start off the second half far more positively than they did the first and almost broke the deadlock when Gav King broke forward and struck an effort towards goal from just outside the box but it cannoned of the crossbar and away from goal.
Ollerton looked to be reaping the benefits of not playing against the wind in the second half and looked to be the far more proactive team but the general theme of few clear cut chances continued throughout large periods of the second half. Ollerton had Retford penned in far large periods of the second half which frustrated the Retford who became continually more aggressive in the tackle but they were able to suppress Ollerton’s offence.
Ollerton failed to break Retford's resolve with the final ball just lacking whenever the Walesby Lane outfit got near the opposition goal. It must be noted that the tactical battle of two five back formations meeting in addition to the windy conditions didn’t aid Ollerton’s offensive attempts as the game fizzled out to a 0-0 within the regulation 90 minutes.
It could be argued that the following 30 minutes of extra time were more entertaining than the previous 90 minutes as both teams really went out to win it without the need of penalties. Retford had the opening chance of extra time as Sam Bartram struck the ball across goal but it was once again met by the assured and confident Dickens.
Ollerton came back strongly throughout the rest of extra time and probably should’ve scored as Chris Hewitt played substitute Kyle Clarkson through on goal after a rapid counter attack but Clarkson was far too indecisive when presented with opportunity and took far too long to release the ball in the one on one situation.
Retford keeper James Gamble struggled to effectively deal with a whipped cross which provided Ollerton with belief that the breakthrough was close.
Ollerton looked to be on the verge of breaking Retford’s resolve throughout extra time but Retford were eventually able to break the deadlock against the run of play through Sam Bartram. It was a disappointing goal to concede as it matched the general scrappy nature of the game but a cross from the right wing found it’s the way past three Ollerton defenders as well as keeper Jack Dickens and was converted into an open net by Bartram to gift Retford an unlikely advantage. It was bitter pill to swallow as Ollerton had looked to be relatively untroubled defensively and will have been disappointed to lose the game from such a poor goal.
As has been the case of the past few weeks, Ollerton were severely depleted but with several key players set to return, they will have to dust themselves off and go again as they face an important run of league fixtures before the New Year.