After wandering up the high street, I arrived at the ground in plenty of time for the kickoff. On the left was a main stand, with a long covered terrace on the far side and some cover behind one of the goals as well. I decided to watch the game from the shelter of the terrace and was pleased to note that the cover was overhanging the pitch. The weather was overcast and the expected rain duly appeared later in the afternoon so this was a good choice!
The game kicked off at 3 and was immediately halted as the referee blew his whistle for a retake as the home team's winger had started his run into the opposition half before the kick was taken. The white shirted Chertsey players managed to get the next kick right and put some early pressure on the green shirted visitors. Chertsey thought they had scored in the second minute but the headed goal was ruled out for offside. The pressure in the first quarter of an hour was all from the home team who had a penalty shout in the fifth minute denied when a player went through in the penalty area and was brought down. Three minutes later they did get a decision from the referee who awarded them a free kick that was hit over the bar.
Chertsey got the goal they deserved in the 23rd minute. Sleaford tried to clear their lines but the clearance was poor and fell to a Chertsey player on the right of the midfield. He played the ball to the edge of the penalty area and it was cleverly laid off to the left for Tyson to hit a first time shot past the keeper and into the top corner.
I thought that this would settle the home team but Sleaford went straight down to the other end from kick off and had a good shot on target that the keeper saved at his near post. In the 26th minute Chertsey needlessly gave away a freekick just outside the far right of their penalty area. The ball was quickly hit low past the wall and appeared to fool the goalkeeper who remained rooted to the spot as the ball ended up in the bottom corner by the right post. From the angle I was at it was difficult to see if it had gone straight in or if someone had deflected it in.
This gave Sleaford a boost and they began to dominate possession and attacking chances for the rest of the half. A minute after the goal they won another freekick which was taken quickly. The home team were expecting the ball to be crossed in but the player had hit a shot directly at goal and the ball fizzed just past the post with the home keeper again rooted to the spot. Chertsey reacted well to this and forced a corner a minute later. The ball was played high into the box and headed towards the goalmouth, only for the a defender's head to get in the way and stop the ball going in. The game now had a bit of edge to it and both teams were involved in some niggling challenges which the referee had to be quick to react too.
Sleaford took the lead moments after the restart. The ball was played forward down the middle and an opportunistic shot was parried out to the left of midfield by the Chertsey keeper. The ball wasn't cleared and fell to Waters who dribbled forward and hit an exquisite chip over the keeper who was just a few feet off his line. It looked the ball had gone over the bar at the far end but when it hit the ground and bounced up into the net it became clear that the visitors were 2.1 up.
If that goal had been scored in the Premier League it would have been a contender for goal of the season and Waters had another attempt in the 50th minute that matched that quality. As the ball was passed to him in midfield, it bounced up to chest height. This allowed him to swivel and hit a shot from 30+ yards out that looked to be dipping under the crossbar until the keeper jumped up and managed to get a hand on it to push it over the bar. From the resulting corner there was a goalmouth scramble before the ball ended up in the net. Before the visitors could celebrate, the referee blew his whistle and disallowed it for a foul.
The home team had been reduced to long "hit and hope" balls upfield and were being caught offside on a regular basis. The frustrations of an afternoon that had started so promisingly got too much for one of the home coaches and his vocal tirades at the officials saw him sent to the stand. Chertsey made a couple of substitutions to try and change the game and moved their ineffective left winger into the centre of midfield.
The adoption of a more attacking line up, the powerful runs of the new winger and an improved performance from the former wingman in the middle eventually changed the game. Chertsey managed to survive a couple of scares when Sleaford's otherwise impressive no 10 Hunter slipped when he went to shoot and put a shot well wide and a couple of minutes later when he lost the ball to the keeper in a one-on-one situation as the defence stood still and looked for a non existant offside.
In the 75th minute Chertsey won a corner and played a curving ball to the near post. After a Chertsey player stooped down to head the ball goalwards, the ball was cleared up into the air by the keeper which allowed Bamford to poke the ball in above the keeper's grasp for an equaliser. Sleaford's defence hadn't covered that post although they had a player covering the far post and this error cost them the goal.
Sleaford were starting to tire but it appeared that their manager had no faith in his substitutes as none of them were warming up which was a surprise. After the goal went in they adopted a more defensive 4-5-1 formation to try and cope with the Chertsey changes. This tactic took the game into extra time as neither team were able to add another goal.
In the second minute of extra time Sleaford were reduced to ten men. One of their players was running into the Chertsey penalty area with the ball but managed to overrun the ball. He stretched forward to try and regain the ball ahead of a Chertsey player who was odds on to intercept it but his tired legs mistimed the tackle and took out the Chertsey player, earning him a second yellow card and an early bath.
Chertsey came close to scoring in the 97th minute from a free header at the far post from a corner but the ball went wide when it should have been on target. It looked like Sleaford would earn a replay but as so often seems to happen in the Vase, a late goal in extra time settled the match. As a local shouted out to his team to have one more attack the ball was played out to space on the left wing. When the cross came in, the ball bounced around the area until Goddard managed to bundle the ball home. He ran over the the corner flag to celebrate, accompanied by his teammates and a good number of youthful supporters who had climbed over the barriers to run on the pitch and join their heroes. A thrilling end to an excellent cup tie.
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