Spalding United 2
Dereham Town 4
Matt Easton rued two poor refereeing decisions as his Spalding United side were dumped out of the Emirates FA Cup 4-2 by Dereham Town on Saturday.
In a preliminary round clash that was that was packed full of excitement and drama, the Tulips led 1-0 at half-time thanks to Kegan Everington’s strike direct from a corner (42).
Goals from Shaun Wones (57) and Ryan Crisp (64) put Dereham ahead for the first time at the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field, only for Jamie Jackson (69) to level matters soon after.
The game then turned on a hotly-disputed penalty decision that saw Adam Hipperson put the Magpies back ahead (83), before Taron Hare was controversially sent off moments later for pulling back Crisp – despite the striker having no chance of reaching the ball.
Spalding threw everything at their visitors in the final stages, but were punished for sending Duggan up for an injury-time corner when Crisp slotted into an empty net from long range.
To lose in such a way was harsh on Easton’s side, but the Tulips chief – who lost both of his centre-backs to injury inside 25 minutes – refused to take anything away from the victorious Magpies.
He was, however, scathing in his assessment of the match official and felt he was overawed by the size of the game.
“We had got ourselves back in the game at 2-2,” said Easton. “But what is disappointing is how we lost the game.
“There was a foul on one of our players and the referee waved for an advantage. But the ball went to one of their players, who went on to get the penalty that they scored their third from.
“I just wanted the referee to have the decency to accept that it wasn’t an advantage and to bring it back for a foul.
“Sadly, the referee wasn’t very good all game. I felt he got overawed by the game and what was at stake – he seemed to lose control of the match. He wasn’t biased, he just wasn’t very good.
“The sending off was just a joke, too. Taron touched the man, but Duggan had the ball in his hands – so how is that scoring opportunity?
“From our point of view, I thought we knocked the ball around well in the second half and we gained a little momentum.
“It was difficult for us. We lost our two centre halves after the first 20 minutes or so, which disrupted us. We haven’t got a massive squad and had to throw two under-23 players onto the pitch.
“The young lads did very well, but ideally we don’t want to be giving them that much game time too soon. It should be 15 minutes here and there.
“Ben Richards and Josh Spencer would have handled their forwards well. The lads did well afterwards, but we were a bit jumbled.
“If it had finished 2-2, we’d have gone into the dressing room absolutely delighted.
“It was a good, open game and both sides had chances. Dereham are a good bunch, a good side and they have a nice management team.
“What we take away from the game is that we can score goals and dictate things a little bit and look after the ball. We’ve also got a good character within the side and they are all working hard.
“We’ve got lots of players out injured, but we’ve also come off the back off back-to-back wins. We just have to put things in perspective, draw a line under it and move on.”
Hoping to mount a decent FA Cup run for the first time in recent memory, Spalding didn’t have too much luck in the opening exchanges.
A great cross from Scott Floyd narrowly missed Jackson after their first serious attack, while key defenders Ben Richards and Josh Spencer had to be replaced by youngsters Dan Mason and Elliott Ramsden after both picked up innocuous injuries.
However, the men in yellow stuck to their task are were unfortunate not to go ahead when Neal Spafford’s header was saved expertly by Elliot Pride.
At the other end, the dangerous Hipperson blazed a great chance over before Floyd’s heroic diving header stopped Crisp’s header finding the bottom corner.
The opener then arrived just before the break, with Everington’s whipped corner from the left flying straight into the far top corner to put the Tulips one up.
That lead was almost wiped out instantly, but Duggan rushed out to save from Hipperson, who hesitated before getting his shot away.
Duggan was back in action to keep out Toby Hilliard early in the second half, while James Hugo stopped the same player turning the rebound into the corner with a block in the line.
There was no denying Dereham moments later, however, as Wones planted a header from a corner low into the net.
Jenk Acar should have restored Spalding’s lead after racing onto Ramsden’s clever pass on the hour, but fired straight at Pride from close in.
It proved costly, with the Magpies going straight up the other end and scoring through Crisp, who finished nicely after clever play down the left culminated in an excellent Hilliard cross.
The Tulips were unlucky not to level instantly, with Jackson seeing his strike from a Mason cross come back off the inside of the post. But the striker wasn’t to be denied as he turned home an equaliser at the back post 20 minutes from time.
That’s how it stayed until the controversial penalty was awarded for a foul on Rhys Logan, with Hipperson sending Duggan the wrong way from the spot.
Hare’s red card followed, before Crisp grabbed his second in added time when Duggan was caught up the field looking to help force a replay.
Despite the defeat, Spalding should be praised for playing their part in an extremely entertaining game and offering their fans value for money in a way not seen at the Sir Halley for the entirety of last season.
Tulips: Duggan, Hare, Hugo, Spafford, Richards (Mason 25), Spencer (Ramsden 25, Zuerner 83), Floyd, Everington, Jackson, Acar, Brownhill. Not used: Holliday, Frain, Smith.
Attendance: 144.
