Falmouth Town 4, Ilfracombe Town 4 - FA Cup, August 2010

A HEADER from James Mayne 16 minutes from time denied Falmouth Town a place in the next round of the FA Cup following a thrilling match at Ilfracombe.

A fine first half hat-trick by Liam Eddy had sent Town on their way to a possible match up with Frome, but a spirited second half fightback from Combe saw them earn a replay.

The start was delayed by half an hour due to the late arrival of the officials, but once the game was underway Falmouth went all guns blazing. Eddy opened the scoring after 10 minutes as he ran on to Mark Vercesi’s pass and lobbed the ball over the home keeper, Steve Oliver, from 15 yards.

Three minutes later it was Jonny Ludlam who provided the through ball for Eddy to run on to and coolly draw the keeper out before slotting it past him low into the net.

Ilfracombe reduced the deficit though when they had a free-kick out near the corner in the 15th minute. Matt Downing hit it high into the middle of the box and home striker Leon Taswell flicked a header into the far side of the net to reduce the arrears.

Falmouth went straight back onto the attack and Vercesi hit a hard low shot, which Oliver did well to tip around the post for a corner. Shaun Lewis and Lee Francis combined well on the right before putting over a cross which Jamie Dirrane headed behind with the resultant corner kick being punched clear by Jason Chapman.

The game got a bit physical shortly before half time with Ross Pope and Ludlam picking up yellow cards from referee Richard Corp, following a series of strong tackles from both sides. Lewis burst forward for Ilfracombe as they pushed more and more down the flanks, but a well-timed tackle from Shane White cut out the danger and the ball was cleared up field where Pope played the ball to Vercesi, but he hit his shot over the bar.

Eddy restored Town’s two-goal lead a minute before the interval to claim his hat-trick, the first scored by a Town player in the FA Cup since Joe Scott netted three against Newquay in 1976. Eddy’s first shot was parried by the keeper, but he reacted quickly to strike the rebound into the back of the net via the post.

The home side started the second half with an ‘all or nothing’ attitude and they were awarded a penalty after 52 minutes. They had three consecutive shots at goal, all of which were blocked, and all of which drew appeals for hand ball. The referee finally agreed with their pleas and the resultant spot kick was converted by Matt

Downing. Sensing blood, the home side piled on the pressure and Francis sent over a good ball on 61 minutes, which resulted in Chapman pushing out Taswell’s shot. However, the ball found Downing who hit a fierce effort past Chapman before the defence could react.

Town restored their lead three minutes later though when a corner kick on the left was taken by James Miller.He hit it waist high into the middle and the defender at the near post left it for the keeper, but Fice prodded it over the line from two yards before any of the home side could react.

Nigel Thwaites came on for Fice after 73 minutes to bolster the midfield, but once again Ilfracombe scored within a minute of the re-shuffle.They had a free-kick 25 yards out and the high ball into the area saw centre back, Mayne, get his head to the ball, amongst a crowd of players, to send it into the far corner of the net.

With time almost up, Town thought that they had won the game when Ludlam let fly with a screaming shot from the edge of the area, but Oliver flew across the goal to tip the ball away.

Falmouth: Jason Chapman, Dan Green, Karl Turner,Shane White, Jamie Dirrane, Ross Pope, Liam Eddy (James Miller), Mark Vercesi (c), Matt Drummond, Ryan Fice, (Nigel Thwaites), Jonny Ludlam.Subs (unused): Josh Sims, Mark Holland.