FA Vase Fourth Round

North Shields 0-2 Morpeth Town

Sean Taylor 52, Lee McAndrew 78

by Stuart Dick at Daren Perrson Stadium

10-man Morpeth Town scored twice in the second half to secure their passage to the last 16 of the FA Vase.

Fierce strikes by Sean Taylor and Lee McAndrew after the break were enough for the Highwaymen after captain Keith Graydon was sent off 10 minutes before half-time for denying a goalscoring opportunity in the penalty area, Karl Dryden the hero, saving Gareth Bainbridge’s spot kick.

The result means Morpeth will now travel to Berkhamsted on Saturday to take on the Comrades for a place in the Quarter Finals.

Morpeth made two changes from the side that beat South Shields in Round Three, Chris Swailes came in to replace the injured David Hiftle, while Jordan Fry replaced Dale Pearson.

The hosts got the advantage of playing with the wind in the first period, and made full use of the conditions. On six minutes Lee Mason broke clear of the Morpeth backline, but his effort was tipped away by Dryden. Bainbridge was next to break on to a through ball, but again the Town stopper was on hand to deny the home side.

Morpeth struggled to press forward in the first twenty minutes, the 70 mph winds stopping any clearance from reaching the halfway line.

As the half continued, Morpeth began to get a foothold in proceedings, Graydon, Sayer, Halambiec and Fry getting the ball down on the floor to negate the wind.

The first Morpeth chance saw Shields ‘keeper Sean McCafferty divert a James Novak corner behind.

The Highwaymen’s attacking forays were few and far between, but the hosts were unable to capitalise, Bainbridge again with an opportunity to put the Robins ahead, Dryden palming away once more.

On 35 minutes, Morpeth were dealt a cruel blow. A Novak corner was cleared by the hosts as far as Stephen Forster, his head swirled in the wind into the path of an onrushing Shields attacker who stormed down the right wing before sliding the ball to an unmarked Mason, who rounded the ‘keeper.

As he was about to slot home into an empty net, Graydon bundled him over, the referee pointing to the spot before giving the Morpeth skipper his marching orders.

Bainbridge stepped up, hitting low into the bottom right hand corner, only to see Dryden guess correctly and tip the ball behind for a corner.

The following ten minutes saw a North Shields onslaught, Dryden making incredible saves from both Kevin Hughes and Gary Ormston, to the dismay of the Shields faithful.

With the wind in the second half, Town were a different animal, even with the loss of their captain, but it was the hosts who had the first flash at goal, Ryan McGorrigan firing wide from the edge of the area.

Six minutes into the second period, Morpeth took the lead. Ben Sayer broke on a loose ball in the centre of the park, advancing towards goal before sliding the ball to Taylor on the right. The Forward unleashed a ferocious right footed strike from the right edge of the area, the ball nestling in the bottom left hand corner of McCafferty’s net.

The wind forced the Robins to build slowly from the back, negating their pacey forwards. The only chances of note for the hosts coming from set-pieces and goalmouth scrambles, all eventually handled by Dryden.

With 11 minutes left on the clock, the lead was doubled thanks to a rare Shields mistake. Substitute McAndrew knicked the ball away from a defender who slipped on a muddy area of the pitch. He marauded into the penalty area, beating the defender with a number of step-overs before firing low into the same corner Taylor had netted earlier, the ‘keeper with no chance of saving.

An exceptional performance against the FA Vase holders, in conditions that were never suited for football.

Morpeth Town – Dryden, Forster, Novak, Swailes, Hall, Graydon, Fry, Sayer (McAndrew), Halambiec, Taylor (Anderson), Chilton (Pearson)

MOTM – Karl Dryden