Ollerton Progress In Vase After Higginson Penalty!

Ten man Ollerton defeated New Mills AFC 1-0 on Saturday

Ollerton Town booked their place in the second qualifying round of the FA Vase on Saturday after narrowly defeating New Mills 1-0, Conor Higginson scoring from the spot three minutes after The Town had been reduced to ten men.
Dave Winter's men started as the dominant force and inside the first half, they missed a plethora of quality chances to break the deadlock, none more so than Gav King's missed penalty.
The second period was a much quieter encounter but half way through, Ollerton's Matty Thompson was shown a straight red. That should have given the visitors hope but minutes later, Ollerton grabbed the winner as Conor Higginson scored his first goal of the club after a second Ollerton spot kick.
Ollerton could have been ahead in the opening five minutes. Sean Dickinson pulled a cross back to Matty Thompson but his half-volleyed effort was straight at New Mills 'keeper Karl Price.
In the 26th minute, an Ollerton corner wasn't properly cleared by New Mills and Sam Stretton was able to head the ball back in towards Brandon Shaw, who fired a chance over.
On the half hour mark, Ollerton were awarded their first penalty after Gav King was tripped by defender Arron Kirk. King stepped up to take the penalty but Ollerton's top scorer was unable to add to his tally, scuffing a shot wide of the post.
The Ollerton chances kept coming and in the 34th minute, good work by King ended in him pulling the ball back for Tom Cooke but the right back could only smash over.
Five minutes before the break, Ollerton again went close. Jake Tittley's whipped corner was flicked on by King at the near post and it found Shaw who again spurned a golden opportunity to put his side ahead.
The opening stages of the second half were much quieter as New Mills looked to stem the tide and gain a foothold back into the game.
Their hopes of progressing were given a boost in the 62nd minute as Ollerton went down to ten. Matty Thompson was shown his marching orders for a bad tackle on Joe Rothwell after a genuine attempt to recover from a bad first touch.
Three minutes later, it was Ollerton who went ahead despite their man disadvantage. King was once again fouled in the area, this time by 'keeper Price, and Higginson stepped up to the spot kick and dispatched the ball into the top corner to put his side ahead.
With five minutes to go, New Mills themselves were reduced to ten men. After the visitors made all three substitutions, Dennis Sherriff limped off with an injury.
In the dying embers of the game, Ollerton had a chance to seal the win. Tom Moody slipped Higginson through down the left and he slid the ball across goal for Kyle Ludlow but the powerful forward couldn't find the target from ten yards out.
In the end, Higginson's penalty proved to be the difference and Ollerton can now look forward to a tough-looking tie at home to Long Eaton United in the next round.