In what turned into a very long evening on Tuesday at BurnhamÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s Gore Stadium, North Greenford United advanced to the Second Round of the Zamaretto Red Insure League Cup after eventually winning 4-1 on penalties. In a fast-flowing, attacking football contest which ended all square at a goal apiece after ninety minutes, neither Burnham nor Greenford were able to wrap up the game during extra time, although both sides had chances to do so.
The evening was made even longer when the match was interrupted by a lengthy second half stoppage after referee Steven Daly had sustained a leg injury that forced him to retire from the game. With assistant Ian Skull taking over in the middle, a replacement official was eventually found to run the line. It wasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t until well after ten oÃ¢â‚¬â„¢clock that the players were finally able to return to the dressing rooms nearly three hours after the game had kicked off.
North Greenford had their best spell during the opening half hour, as the team began the game in confident mood, passing the ball well and mounting a series of promising attacks with strikers Dave Lawrence and Garry Senior coming agonisingly close to giving their side the lead.
To their credit, the spirited and resilient Burnham defence held out well and during the final fifteen minutes of the period the home side began to get themselves back into the game, mounting several dangerous counter-attacks of their own. One of these came close to giving the team a half-time advantage when a fine effort grazed the North Greenford post.
Two goals in the opening five minutes of the second period brought the game well and truly to life. Burnham scored first when the ball was played to striker Yashwa Romeo on the right of the Greenford area. Romeo produced a powerful and accurate low strike that beat United keeper Gary Jallow at his near post.
Within a minute Greenford had equalised. A Sean Hillier pass found midfielder Jamie OÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Connell in space and OÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Connell played a lovely chipped ball into the box which was well met by Senior, whoÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d made a perfectly timed run across the box. SeniorÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s neat glancing header gave Burnham keeper Chay Morris no chance as the ball sailed past him into the net.
From that point on the game flowed evenly and entertainingly from end to end with both teams doing their utmost to regain the advantage and both showing determination and commitment in defence.
Then, a little over halfway through the period, came the injury to referee Daly. Not surprisingly, after what proved a lengthy interruption, both sets of players struggled to regain their rhythm when play finally resumed, and the game lost some of its earlier momentum.
Extra time seemed an almost inevitable outcome until the dying moments of normal time when Lawrence thought heÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d won the game for Greenford. Senior played his strike partner in behind the Burnham defence with a deft headed flick-on, and Lawrence produced a clinical finish, only for his effort to be ruled out by assistant referee Bart OÃ¢â‚¬â„¢Toole for offside.
An additional thirty minutes of football was therefore guaranteed for the two by now very weary teams. Again to the playersÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ credit, both sides did their best to raise their game and nick the all-important goal in open play. During the first period and at the beginning of the second the best of the chances fell to Burnham with Senior coming close for United midway through the second period when he got on the end of a fine Hillier cross.
In the end the goal didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t come and the two sides had to prepare for the lottery of a penalty shoot-out. As it happened the shoot-out turned into a very one-sided affair. With Senior, Lawrence and new signing Leon Nelson all scoring comfortably for Greenford, and with both Lee Togwell and Darren Rochell missing the target for Burnham, United youth player Luke Heneghan, in his second appearance for the senior team, only had to hit the target to end the contest at this point. Heneghan did just that, and in some style, to secure North GreenfordÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s place in the next round.
Ironically, North GreenfordÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s next game is a return fixture against Burnham, this time a Zamaretto league fixture to be played at Berkeley Fields this coming Tuesday 2nd November (k.o. 7.45pm).

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