The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Rothwell Corinthians 3
Pinchbeck United 0
Pinchbeck United’s dream of playing in the Emirates FA Cup turned into a nightmare on Saturday as Rothwell Corinthians handed them a 3-0 beating.
The Knights had beaten the same opposition 2-1 just seven days ago, but goals from Louis Odell, Ryan Kenyon and James Stephenson secured an Extra Preliminary Round win for the hosts at Seargents Lawn and handed Ian Dunn’s side their first loss since September 2017.
To make matters worse for Pinchbeck in what was their first-ever game in the competition, Tom Sergeant was sent off just after the half time whistle for violent conduct in the all Future Lions UCL Premier Division clash.
The dismissal was the Knights’ fourth red card in three games so far this season – and player/boss Dunn admitted that playing with a numerical disadvantage finally took its toll on his side.
He said: “It’s very hard to play with ten men or worse – and I think it finally cost us on Saturday.
We played 70 minutes against Boston Town and 45 minutes on Saturday with a man less. It takes it out of you.
“We’d done well not to lose any of our other matches this season, but it catches up with you eventually.
“Saturday’s red card was avoidable – it was just a moment of madness from Tom and he knows how disappointed we are.
“To be honest, there wasn’t much in the game. We were on top and hit the bar before they scored what I think was their only chance of the first half. Not to take anything away from Rothwell, but I think all of their goals were avoidable.
“We were chasing the game and they got us on the break. Sadly, it’s going to happen at this level.
“We looked dangerous when Jordan Nuttell came on in the second half, but we’d have looked even better with 11 men. I don’t think that Rothwell offered anything different to the week before. We just need to rediscover some discipline and give ourselves the best chance of winning each week.
“It’s a big shame that we had this kind of day in what was our first-ever FA Cup game. We all wanted to win and make a bit of history, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.”
The defeat means that Pinchbeck miss out on more than £2,000 in FA prize money. It’s also their first loss in 29 competitive fixtures.
Rothwell progress to a Preliminary Round clash at Barton Rovers on Saturday, August 25.
It also means that the Knights will be without a fixture that weekend.
Pinchbeck: Smith, Wright, Jack Smith, Lawrence (Clarke, Dunn), Murrell, Shipley, Eyett, Gardner (Nuttell), Bayliss, Sergeant, Maltby.
