Scott Witschge came off the bench to send Inglewood United into the last four of the FFA Cup with 2-1 victory over Balcatta this afternoon at Grindleford Reserve. Witschge snared the deciding goal in extra-time after the game was tied up at 1-1 at the end of regulation time, Cameron Teece cancelling out Mark Pritchard’s early opener.
“It’s only my second game back with the first team after breaking my foot, so to score the winner gives me confidence going forward,” Witschge said. “Credit to Balcatta, they showed great heart to push us with nine men. To be fair though, we should have scored a few more goals but at the end of the day we’re happy to come away with the win.”
A drama-filled contest opened with Balcatta going down to ten men after last man Alex Suleski felled Brian Woodall on the edge of the penalty area after just 12 minutes. Pritchard rubbed salt into the wound by stepping to the dead ball and curling it into the top corner of Clint Davies net.
Calum O’Connell crashed the ball into the upright as Inglewood sought to double their lead, however, Teece brought the teams level just after the half hour. Referee Matthew Southern had little hesitation in pointing to the spot when Adam Tong was brought down by Kieron Stallard but Davies guessed correctly to keep out O’Connell’s penalty.
Davies continued to frustrate the away team after the interval, the ‘keeper moving sharply to deny Woodall. Pritchard found a way through only for his curling effort to come back off the post and while Tong steered the follow-up on-target it was met by the gloves of Davies.
Inglewood captain David Cyrus put his body on the line at the other end to block Teece’s goal bound shot with the end of regulation time approaching. The game was deep in stoppage time when Balcatta were reduced to nine men, referee Southern issuing Stallard his marching orders for a second yellow card.
Extra-time began with Davies rising to Kenny Keogh’s challenge before Zelfy Nazary fired across the face of Alex Dunn’s goal. The tie was eventually decided in the 102nd minute when Witschge rose highest to nod in Jason Barrera’s well-flighted corner. Keogh would have added his name to the score sheet if not for another stunning save by Davies.
Inglewood’s Under-18 team are also through to the semi-finals of the Cup after defeating Balcatta 2-0 earlier in the day. New signing Matt Sutcliffe played the starring role with Luke Garas and Brian Fiasco getting the goals.
Match stats
Balcatta 1 (Cameron Teece 32)
Inglewood United 2 (Mark Pritchard 12, Scott Witschge 102)
Balcatta: Clint Davies, John Corness, Kieran Colwell, Kieron Stallard, Hanafi Ghazali, Feisal Zaw (Hassan El Yassiri 74), Alan Carroll, Alex Suleski, Gomo Dukuly (Eamon McNelis 60), Cameron Teece (Carol Coehlo 96), Zelphy Nazary
Inglewood United: Alex Dunn, Adam Tong, David Cyrus, Scott Blackmore, Tim Robertson (Aleks Jovic 80), Josh Pereira (Jason Colli 90), Jason Barrera, Mark Pritchard (Scott Witschge 60), Calum O’Connell, Kenny Keogh, Brian Woodall
Bookings: Stallard (12), Corness (28), Keogh (44), O’Connell (58), Carroll (90+), Glazali (90+), Jovic (96), Blackmore (114)
Dismissals: Suleski (11), Stallard (90+)
