More Mackey magic seals Vase win in South London

With the clock showing 89 minutes gone and extra time beckoning, Ben Mackey struck to seal victory for Brakes and take them into the last 32 of the FA Carlsberg Vase.

The experienced Jason Pearcey was preferred in goal to Richard Morris and his penalty save on 54 minutes kept Brakes in the match after Croydon had gained the upper hand after the restart. It was then left to hotshot Ben Mackey to score the one and only goal to calm the fraying nerves of the Brakes travelling faithful that made up the majority of the 279 strong crowd.

That the match was too close to call was the result of Brakes wasting numerous chances that came their way in the first half. After a bright start in which Stuart Herlihy was running the midfield, Brakes seemed to take their foot off the pedal and allow Croydon more space. However, for all their play, the home team only tested Pearcey once with a free-kick from skipper Ollie Young on 39 minutes and it was the Brakes forwards who had the best chances to score.

Mackey had headed wide in only the second minute and should have done better on 12 minutes, pulling his shot after Jon Adams and Josh Blake had combined well. In the 22nd minute, Adams cleared a Croydon free-kick from Young and his inch-perfect pass found Mackey who, instead of going for goal, squared the ball across to Blake who was in an off-side position.

It took until the 28th minute for Brakes to force the first corner of the match and Jamie Towers' inswinger from the left landed on top of the Croydon crossbar. Then a long ball from Tom Bates was knocked back by Mackey to Adams whose shot went high over the goal.

Blake had a good chance to open the scoring getting onto a cross from Bates, but directing his header into the arms of 'keeper Danny Harwood. The returning Adam Knight was on target with a 35th minute header from another Bates cross and, with a minute of the half remaining, a Bates free-kick fell to Mackey who shot straight at Harwood.

Croydon came at Brakes at the start of the second half and substitute Tim Murdoch's pass found Ray Freeman in front of goal with only Pearcey to beat, but the striker hesitated and the ball was cleared. On 54 minutes, Freeman went down under challenge from Knight and, although Matt Fowler put his spot kick low to the foot of the post, Pearcey got across to his right to make an acrobatic save.

At the other end, Harwood punched clear a Jamie Towers cross and Herlihy headed back on target, only for Harwood to punch the ball away from danger again.

Davis should have done better after his 60th minute run into the penalty area gave him a clear shot on goal, but he blasted his effort over the top. Pearcey then denied Davis tipping his shot over the bar and, with the temperature dropping and extra time looking likely, a moment of Mackey magic sealed Croydon's fate.

In the 89th minute, with the bench looking to substitute Mackey if the ball went out of play, Bates found the Brakes striker on the left side of goal and he turned and placed his shot just inside the far post to launch celebrations on and off the pitch.

Croydon play in a large and soulless stadium with an athletics track separating the playing surface from the crowd. What the arena lacked in atmosphere, the home officials more than made up for in the warmth of their welcome. Chairman and manager, Dickson Gill, had won the Kent League Manager of the Month Award and (not too seriously) blamed defeat on the accolade.

Thanks also to former Courier and Weekly News reporter, Josh Layton, for his kind comments in the Croydon Advertiser where he predicted a 2-0 win for Brakes. Had just one more of the many first half chances been taken, he would have been right, but we will settle for the single goal and a step nearer Wembley.

There were bookings for Andy Gregory (48 minutes) and Adam Knight (70mins) for fouls and for Tom Bates (90 mins) for kicking the ball away to waste time. For Croydon, Matt Fowler (77 minutes), Rhoderique Davis (80 mins) and Ollie Young (90 mins) were also shown yellow cards, although the card count did not reflect a match played in a good spirit by both sides.

Brakes manager, Jason Cadden, was a happy man after the match, calling the win "a tremendous result." He added "this was a hard place to come to and win and, after we had the better of the first half, they came back into it in the second period. It took a great penalty save from Jason Pearcey to keep us in it and then Ben's strike sealed the win that takes us into the last 32."

Croydon Danny Harwood; Danny Bennett (Tim Murdoch 20); Ryan Watts; Ollie Young [Capt.]; Chris Hill; Lee Kirby; Rhoderique Davis (Neil John 83); Bronek Dabrowa; Matt Fowler; Mark Whiteman; Ray Freeman
Subs Not Used Emmanuel Quarshie; Craig Price; Sam Warner

Leamington Jason Pearcey; Jamie Towers; Tom Cudworth; Adam Knight; Andy Gregory; Morton Titterton [Capt.]; Stuart Herlihy; Jon Adams; Ben Mackey (Martin Thompson 90); Josh Blake; Tom Bates
Subs Not Used Dave Pearson; Adam Cooper; Craig Dutton; Richard Morris

Author's Man of the Match Andy Gregory

Attendance 279