Alsager Town 3-6 Coventry United
Alsager Town hosted Coventry United in the FA Vase and were hoping to bounce back after a midweek defeat in the league. The rain was lashing down at Wood Park which caused both teams to make errors.
First half
Coventry United took an early lead when the ball was played to Hammond on the left. His shot beat the goalkeeper to get the away side off to a dream start.
Alsager were almost in even more trouble, when a Coventry attacker was brought down inside the penalty box. The referee made the decision not to award a penalty, a decision which failed to convince the spectators watching on, including some of the Bullets supporters.
Alsager had their first half chance with a shot from outside the box which was fired just over the bar. However, Coventry soon made it 2-0. The keeper made an initial save, but Faulkner got to the ball first and scored on the rebound.
The Bullets responded with a very good goal. Alfie Carmichael received an exceptional curled cross from the left wing and breathed some life back into his team.
Coventry conceded again a few minutes later after the goalkeeper spilled the ball. Their defender arrived first, but he was unable to get the ball away from the goalmouth, thanks to pressure from Jamie Walker.
The visitors had the ball in the back of the net again when their forward rounded the keeper after a long ball down the middle of the pitch. However, the linesman had already raised his flag a good few seconds before the goal to signal that it was offside.
Alsager could have gone into the half time interval with a one goal advantage, but Luke Moran blasted the ball over the bar after a brilliant attacking move.
Half time: Alsager Town 2-2 Coventry United
Second half
The hosts did take the lead very early in the second half. A Coventry defender slipped, providing Carmichael with a straightforward finish.
Coventry drew level in almost no time at all with a strike into the bottom left corner and went ahead for the second time with a headed effort which came from a corner.
It looked as though Alsager had equalised again and it would have been a Carmichael hat-trick. He scored after receiving a great cross from the right wing, but the linesman raised his flag and the goal was disallowed.
Alsager looked threatening afterwards, but this eventually died down and it was Coventry who scored the next goal. A through ball found their forward and at 5-3, it looked like the game could be over.
There was truly no way back for Alsager when Coventry scored their sixth and final goal. The ball was taken around the goalkeeper, leaving a simple finish.
Full time: Alsager Town 3-6 Coventry United
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