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- LIVE: City 1 (English, 43) vs Atherstone 1 (Belcher, 21) - Atherstone win 5-4 on penalties.
- WORCESTER City’s Wembley dreams are over after a cruel penalty shootout defeat to Atherstone Town in the FA Vase round of 16 replay.
- City hit the post twice in the second-half as they pushed for the winner but were left wondering what might have been after Adders substitute Adam Goodby scored the winning spot kick to send the visitors to the quarter finals.
- City’s Luke Rowe and Sam Hall fell foul to the dreaded shootout despite Nathain Haines missing for the visitors as Goodby booked Adders ticket into the quarters.
- City players slumped to the floor following the winning kick as Atherstone celebrated wildly with their fans as they notched up another scalp in this competition.
- The game itself had seen Atherstone take the lead after 20 minutes when Sam Belcher stunned the crowd with a brilliant long range strike from 25 yards that went in off the post.
- City had chances to level before the break with Sean Brain having the best of the them, blazing over from a matter of yards following a cut-back from Demetri Brown.
- But City weren’t to be denied just three minutes before the break when a long ball looped over the Adders defence and found Luke English, who struck a first-time volley into the bottom corner at the back post.
- The second half saw more chances for both teams and started with a big penalty appeal for the away side. Joe Obi went down in the City box under a challenge from keeper Daniel Jezeph following a mazy run but the referee was unmoved.
- The biggest chance of the game fell to City minutes later when a free-kick for Atherstone went wrong and left Brain two-on-one with the defender and teammate Liam Lockett.
- Brain decided to go it alone and carried the ball from box-to-box before cutting inside and smashing the post. The striker was desperately unlucky but in the end, it proved to be a costly miss.
- The game calmed down after the initial crazy 15-minute spell following half-time but there was time for another big handball appeal from Atherstone coaches and players when the ball looked to have smacked Joe Hawkins on the arm.
- Extra time came and went with little goal mouth action but there was one big opportunity for the hosts in what proved to be another huge moment in the match.
- Marco Adaggio, who was removed from the starting line-up minutes before kick-off due to a slight knock, came on just before the second period of extra time.
- The hero of the last round came so close to sending Worcester through to the quarter final when his audacious effort to chip the keeper crashed back off the bar with seven minutes left of play.
- The shootout saw the first six penalties hit the back of net before Sam Hall put his over the bar for City. Nathan Haines had a chance to put the Adders into the next round but his kick hit the bar and City were back on level terms when keeper Jezeph smashed his in.
- Sudden death came and Luke Rowe stepped up but saw his penalty saved and Goodby then strolled up and hammered the ball into the net to send the Adders through.
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