Saturday 19th October 2019, Macron Cup first round

West 3 (Steer 25, Moloney 66 pen, Cottee 90+4)
New Mills 1 (Shenton 52 pen, Forth sent off 24)
Att: 298

West eventually saw off ten-man New Mills to progress to the second round of the Macron Cup.

The Millers played 65 minutes with a numerical disadvantage and outfield player Benito Lowe in goal after Dylan Forth was shown a straight red card, but proved a tough nut to crack and the tie was in the balance right up until James Cottee settled matters with the last kick of the game.

Though the referee would soon be kept busy with three penalties and a red card, there was a decidedly low-key feel to the opening period until the match exploded into life midway through the first half. After Millers keeper Forth contested a long ball with Ben Steer, the referee ruled that Forth had caught the West man late and pointed for a penalty before ending Forth’s afternoon early.

With no replacement keeper on the bench, the visitors turned to Lowe to don Forth’s gloves and he made a notable first impression by keeping out Ash Woods’ spot kick, though Steer was on hand to sweep the rebound into the net to open the scoring.

The Millers were rocked but stabilised themselves enough to reach the interval with a single-goal deficit, though Dylan Moloney went close to doubling West’s lead when he ran through on goal before shooting just wide. But the visitors were back on level terms with a penalty of their own not long after the restart – after a foul following a corner, Ryan Shenton scored his fourth goal against West this season.

Lowe continued to impress in his temporary role as he kept out Josh Tinker and Moloney, before West were beneficiaries of the third penalty of the afternoon when Zac Cooper’s run into the box was prematurely ended. This time, Moloney assumed responsibility and fired high into the roof of the net.

But the Millers, who fought back to claim a draw against West in Derbyshire last month, refused to go quietly and Andrew Jones had to be alert to keep out a series of efforts before Chris Middleton arrived in the nick of time to clear a looping shot off the line. At the other end, Lowe produced his finest save of the afternoon when he flung himself to his right to tip substitute James Sigsworth’s shot onto the post.

The visitors almost pulled level in the 93rd minute when a long-rang effort was spectacularly turned behind by Jones, but this ultimately led to Cottee wrapping things up – Lowe came up for the resulting corner and when West cleared the ball, Cottee’s aim was true as he found the empty net from 40 yards.

West: A. Jones, Cook, Cooper, Tinker, Forbes, Middleton, Grimshaw, C. Jones, A. Woods (Cottee 60), Moloney (Holt 83), Steer (Sigsworth 60). Not used: Boland, Horner.

West media player of the match: Dylan Moloney.

Post-match podcast

Reaction from the media and management teams.