Steelmen survive scares to enter the hat for the third qualifying round of the FA Cup.
Match report: Corby Town 3-2 Leamington
FA Cup 2nd qualifying round
Steel Park
Corby Town survived both a very early and a very late scare from Leamington as they earned their place in the hat for the next round of the greatest and oldest club football competition in the world, the FA Cup with Budweiser.
A Josh Moreman brace and a first for the club from Tom McGowan helped Chris Plummer’s side to the win, but goals three minutes from the kick off and full time from Matt Dodd and Sam Adkins respectively gave The Steelmen a reality check.
The game was met with a disastrous start after just four minutes as Dodd opened the scoring. Former Daventry man Tom Berwick got the better of former skipper Paul Malone before finding his teammate, where the midfielder slotted the ball home off the post to give the visitors a very early lead.
Corby managed to go over five minutes without even threatening the Leamington half, and before even gaining any real possession, found themselves behind in the competition known for its upsets.
Avelino Vieira went close on goal after 17 minutes. The Portuguese forward collected the ball from his skipper Jason Crowe on the edge of the area before seeing his effort skim the wrong side of the cross bar, going out for a Leamington goal kick.
Ryan Semple was involved for the first time on 28 minutes as he met a Crowe cross in with his head, but failed to find the net, or the target as it yet again went out for a goal kick.
But Corby found their feet with nine minutes to play in the first half as good passing football from Vieira and Tom McGowan lead to Semple putting the ball in at the far post, leading to a easy chance for Josh Moreman to level the scores.
The Striker was denied almost on the line, but fortunately for Corby, McGowan was at the opposite stick to bundle it over the line, putting The Steelmen right back in this game after such a poor start.
The second half started almost opposite to the first, as Moreman latched onto a Pierrick Briand through ball before taking on both Leamington centre halves and smoothly placed the ball past goalkeeper Kevin Sawyer to give Corby the lead they have been looking for.
The top scorer looked to make it three and double his own tally on 61 minutes as he fired one from the left touchline and from around 25 yards, seen his shot cannon off the top side of the bar and go out for a goal kick.
Numerous efforts from Moreman and Semple showed signs of positivity from Chris Plummer’s side but the back of the Leamington net could not be found for a third time.
And the third Corby goal came with ten minutes to go as the man of the match Moreman finally scored his second of the afternoon with a completely solo effort, taking on the Leamington defence and firing it home to score what seemed like the game killer.
But another scare, this time in the closing minutes of the game seen a fantastic free kick from substitute Sam Adkins take a deflection off a Corby player to give the visitors a glimmer of hope, but it was too little too late.
Corby will find out who their next opponents in the FA Cup are on Monday.
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