Needham Market knocked out of FA Cup by dramatic late York City goal

A deflected effort from York City in stoppage time knocked Needham Market out of the Emirates FA Cup and gut-wrenchingly denied them a place in the first round proper for a second year in a row.

Tyler Cordner’s late volley secured a 1-0 win for the visitors, as the Marketmen went toe to toe with the Vanarama National League side for 180 minutes across the tie.

The late sucker punch ended Needham’s 540 minute stint without conceding in the FA Cup this season.

Needham Market boss Kevin Horlock made just one change from the weekend as Callum Page dropped to the bench, in place of Jamie McGrath.

As for the visitors, Neil Ardley made two changes to his team from Saturday’s 0-0 draw up North, including the removal of his skipper from the stalemate.

Lennell John Lewis was replaced by Kai Kennedy, so Ryan Fallowfield donned the captains armband, and ex-Thetford Town, Bury Town and Mildenhall Town midfielder Quevin Castro started from the off in place of Olly Dyson.

In front of a packed out Bloomfields, with the heartbeat of the ground drumming away in the Les Ward stand, Needham came out the traps quickly and fashioned a great chance inside the opening two minutes.

A misplaced pass in the York defence was pounced on by Tevan Allen, who unleashed a rocket from just outside the box, that fizzed off a visiting defender and just wide of the post for a corner.

Minutes later, Akinyemi – who was a nuisance for Needham throughout Saturday’s draw – switched the play brilliantly to Fallowfield down the right, but his early low cross was deflected behind for a corner – which came to nothing.

The visitors would have been aware that they would have to weather an early storm from the Marketmen and they looked to have caught them on the break after five minutes.

The Needham back-line, consisting of the Morphew duo, were barking orders to their midfielders and orchestrated the hosts set up superbly in the opening stages – as the visitors struggled to string a killer ball to gte their attackers involved.

However, Fallowfield was the outlet for the visitors that found joy in behind the Needham back line and after a quarter of an hour he tried to lob Garnham from inside the box, but his effort was cleared off the line and over the bar by the Marketmen’s skipper Morphew.

Then, on his return to Suffolk, Castro shrugged off a challenge from Hammond and drove into the heart of Needham’s half. He worked a shooting chance from way out that he skewed wide and received a stern telling off from his teammates, who thought they were in a better position to his right.

A lot of the joy the hosts got came from sloppiness in the York back line and just after 20 minutes had passed, not for the first time, Will Smith gifted possession to Ingram.

The Needham winger twisted and turned to dig out a cross on the right bi-line, which was just slightly behind the foot of Jamie McGrath who acrobatically tried to flick the ball goalward.

On Saturday, skipper Morphew reckoned Williams should have scored his volley from just outside the area, so the midfielder’s eyes would have lit up when Smith’s deep cross found him just inside the penalty area.

He cannoned a volley that struck a York defender on the knee and could have flown anywhere. Fortunately for the men in white, they could clear their lines.

If anyone looked like they had the quality to unlock the Needham Market defence, it was Akinyemi. He always looked a danger when he picked up possession, especially when he dropped deep.

He showed his quality to work space on the half-turn, midway inside Needham’s half, to eventually riffle a shot just wide of Garnham’s right post. His effort was met by sarcastic cheers of ‘we’ve had a shot’ from the York City fans behind the goal, which showed what they thought of the first period.

As the first half ticked over to half-time, so did Needham’s clean sheet record as it marked more than 495 minutes without conceding a goal in the FA Cup.

Arguably, the Marketmen were the better side in the first 45. They played without fear, took the game to York and didn’t look anything like a side 34 places below the visitors before kick-off.

A quarter of an hour into the second half and it looked like the ‘cometh the hour, cometh the hour’ headlines had written themselves for Castro, who received the ball in the penalty area with space to line up a curling left footed effort.

With shades of Sarurday’s defending K. Morphew charged down the former West Brom playmaker to make a heroic block.

The hosts did not let this faze them and they fashioned the best chance of the game on 67 minutes. Ingram picked the ball up on the right and ferociously drove into the box, sending three defenders to the floor, before his toe poked effort was tipped wide by Watson.

Moments later, on the opposite flank, Hammond slipped through Allen who dribbled into the penalty area and tried to catch Watson out with a shot to his near post, but the York 'keeper got down well and was equal to it.

As the game looked to be heading to extra-time, York City – despite all the pressure they soaked up – should have broken the deadlock with less than 10 minutes of normal time to play.

A route one ball from the back sent Akinyemi on his way, one on one with Garnham. The York forward had time to set his sights, but he blazed his effort over the bar with D. Morphew closing him down from behind.

If that did not look like a certain goal, then what was to follow minutes later certainly did. John-Lewis fired a low strike goalwards from the edge if the box. The ball took an age to roll towards the net, it then hit the left post and bounced kindly back into the grateful palms of Garnham.

In the final stages of the game, the experience of the visitors seemed to help them build a few late chances, and it was a last minute corner that proved to be the difference between the two sides.

The delivery found Cordner at the back post, who’s deflected effort agonisingly fell past Garnham in the Needham goal

A cruel, cruel way to bow out of the competition. The lack of celebration from the visitors showed that they knew they had been in a cup tie, and then some.

It is York City who will travel to Chester in the first round proper, but nothing but praise can go towards Horlock and his side. They did everyone in Needham and Suffolk proud.

Suffolk News MOTM: Jacob Lay – ran the show in midfield and caused York problems all night.

Needham Market: Garnham, Dye, Smith, Hammond, K.Morphew (cpt), D. Morphew, Ingram, Williams, Lay, McGrath (Page 67’), Allen.

York City: Watson, Fallowfield (cpt), Crookes, Cordner, Akinyemi, Castro (John-Lewis 63’), Batty, Burgess (Siziba 63’), Kennedy, Woodyard, Smith.