Widnes FC 0-1 Skelmersdale United
A goal from Peter Wylie was the difference as Widnes FC were knocked out of the Liverpool Senior Cup despite a valiant effort against Northern Premier League Premier Division side Skelmersdale United.
Considering the three divisions and 75 places in the English Football League pyramid separating the two sides, Widnes will count themselves extremely unfortunate not to have won the game, as they matched the away side and created enough chances to provide them with the means to win the game.
The home side came into the game on a good run of form, having won their last two league games convincingly whilst scoring ten goals and conceding just once in the process. Skelmersdale came into the game top of their respective division despite their faltering form as of late. Manager Tommy Lawson fielded a strong side in the game, as an attempt to get things back on track in a competition that the club take very seriously.
Widnes started brightly and flew out of the blocks with a chance to take the lead inside the first minute. Skelmersdale keeper Martin Fearon was on-hand to deny Ben Tollitt with a good save. Forward Paul Cliff was adamant that the ball had crossed the line but referee Ian Hussin waved away the protests.
The away side also started the game in an encouraging manner. Good build up from Skelmersdale culminated in James Ludgate making an excellent challenge on Scott Bakkor to concede a corner and prevent the striker attempting a shot on goal.
The early exchanges were dominated by the Northern Premier League Premier Division league leaders. Former Widnes man Connor McCarthy had a goal rightly disallowed shortly before the 10-minute mark, before he teed up Alex Meaney a minute later who hit the post with a great shot from the edge of the box. Skelmersdale didn’t waste much time putting down a statement of intent.
Ben Morrow was deputising in goal for Widnes in the absence of David Nevitt, and he was on-hand to make a terrific save to deny Bakkor with the ball falling to Kenny Strickland who blasted his shot well over the bar.
Skelmersdale’s ability going forward was beginning to show and Widnes defended well until the 25th minute when the deadlock was finally broken. Strickland rattled the bar with a 30-yard free-kick before fullback Peter Wylie headed the rebound over the head of Morrow and in to the back of the net to give the away side a well deserved lead.
The story of the first half was the away side’s dominance in possession. Widnes had Ben Morrow to thank for making save after save to keep the scoreline 0-1. Connor McCarthy firmly established himself as the danger man for the away side as his clever flick sent Dion Charles through on goal who forced a solid save out of the young keeper.
Then, on the stroke of halftime, Skelmersdale captain Rob McIntosh was denied stunningly by Morrow who denied a shot right in front of goal.
Widnes switched to a 3-5-2 formation to begin the second half with Matty Lennon being introduced in favour of Paul Cliff. However, it didn’t have an instant impact as excellent build-up play again from the away side ended with Charles firing his shot over the bar. The winger should have done better with his end-product.
As the hour-mark approached, it became clear that Widnes were still in the game despite Skelmersdale’s dominance. Steve Hill’s side began to start creating numerous chances in the final thirty minutes.
Jay Cooper picked out Jamil Campbell-Joseph with a phenomenal pass in the area. However, the forward’s header was poor. The striker was isolated by the Skelmersdale back four for the majority of the game in only his second appearance for the club due to injury. Despite this, his movement was one of the positive factors for Widnes in the game.
Morrow then made his only mistake of the game. He was involved in a defensive mishap with Matty Lennon which nearly ended in calamity for Widnes. Luckily enough however, the ball went just wide of the post.
He redeemed himself shortly afterwards, making a great diving save to his left to deny Bakkor from close-range.
As the game began to draw towards its closing stages, Widnes went incredibly close to finding an equaliser. A great flick from Campbell-Joseph sent Ben Tollitt on his way but the forward was let-down by his shot, which he dragged wide of the post.
In the final ten minutes, it was a case of both sides pushing for a goal for different reasons. Scott Bakkor again threatened for the away side as he missed arguably the best chance of the half as he dragged a shot wide from just inside the penalty area.
Widnes were incredibly unfortunate not to equalise just before the end of normal time. Tollitt’s great delivery from the left-hand side met the head of Matty Lennon who directed his header goalwards but it was denied on the line by Valtar Fernandes and then the ball was duly cleared by the away side.
The away side managed to hold on for victory to secure a semi-final berth alongside AFC Liverpool in the Liverpool Senior Cup.
Widnes were much-improved in the second-half and their performance was good enough to win the game. However, it just wasn’t to be.
With the back-to-back league wins in the bag and a respectable performance against a team from a very high-level behind them, Widnes will head into Saturday’s trip to Glossop North End in the Men United Cup with renowned confidence. Their next league fixture is a home game against Hanley Town in early December.
Match Report by Callum Chadwick