Wealdstone 1 Hayes & Yeading United 0
FA Trophy First Round Proper
Wealdstone completed a run of six unbeaten games and in the process progressed into the 2ND Round Proper of the FA Trophy with a narrow but convincing win over league rivals Hayes & Yeading United at The Vale on Saturday.
Stones line up was changed to combat the opponents packed midfield and a winger was sacrificed. James Hammond had to pull out of the starting line up at short notice due to feeling unwell and in came Carl Martin who had an excellent match in the right back position
Stones bossed play from the first whistle and almost forced an own goal from a corner in the first few minutes of frenetic action. Scott McGleish then headed wide from a searching Carl Martin cross as the home side continued to dominate possession. Hayes started to look a little brighter with Mason Spence probing well in the midfield but Stones pressed hard giving United little time to build effective attacks
After Stones had a let off when Tom Hamblin slipped on the greasy surface allowing a clear strike on goal from Issac Layne – the upright came to the rescue – Stones had a purple patch of several chances that they should have put away
Johnny Wright shot wide after good play from McGleish, but Wright should have given his side the lead on the half hour mark when a great Shaun Lucien cross was not converted , his header merely smashing the cross bar. McGleish then got clear and United keeper Grant Smith parried his powerful effort away to safety.
Exchanges were more even in the second period as the away side realised they were still in with a chance to snatch the tie.
Play was held up for a lengthy period following a clash of heads and McGleish had to be taken to Hospital with a badly gashed head.
But Wealdstone’s pressure kept mounting and on 74 minutes from a corner a goal mouth melee found Tom Hamblin who smashed against an upright. The loose ball somehow found a prone Wes Parker who rifled home to the huge relief of the players and the crowd.
Stones had several more chances to kill the game but made wrong decisions creating unnecessary tension at the death as United almost stole in to equalise but Keeper Jonathan North was fully alert when it mattered.
Wealdstone : North,Martin, Watts, Parker (c), Hamblin, Godfrey, Lucien, Brown, McGleish, Wright, O’Nien. Subs used: Turner, Jolly. Not used: Hammond,
Cronin, Carter (GK) William Hill MoM: Wes Parker
