The Mod bounced back from 2 early season defeats to knock last seasons rivals Rg Athletic out of the cup.
Looking to put a few wrongs right not only from last season but also from the inept display last week The Mod came out of the traps fast. A new look 4-2-3-1 formation didn't allow Rg's holding midfielders to run the game as they had in previous meetings and pace both up front and on either wing caused RG tons of trouble. For all the early promise though The Mod failed to test the RG keeper and ineveitably the away side came back into the game. The Mod though marshalled superbly by Charlie Gadd at centre half limited the oppourtinies they had and Jamie Carstairs was equal to anything which did come his way.
Half Time - The Mod 0-0 RG Athletic
The second half found the game alot more stretched and The Mod were having lots of joy down the left hand side with Callum Carlise feeding Dean Condon and Matty Anderson at will in behind RG's right back. It was no suprise when The Mod opened the scoring down this flank. A through ball found Anderson who's blocked shot was kept in well by Glyn Mcnaulty, his cross found Anderson unmarked at the far post to nod in from 5 yards.
The lead didn't last long though with RG pressing Ben Greatbatch mistimed a tackle giving RG a chance from the spot, the RG midfielder kept his cool from the spot despite having to retake due to encroachment. Both teams had chances to win the game within the 90 mins but fantastic saves from either keeper forced the tie to extra time.
Full Time - The Mod 1-1 RG Athletic
The Mod started extra time on the back foot and looked to have thrown the game away within 2 minutes of the restart. First a sublime Dean Condon through ball to Rg's winger alllowed him to Square to there forward to finish from close range. Then a disputed hand ball allowed the RG penaly specialist to make it 3-1. In recent games against RG going behind had caused The Mod to fold over but this time it sparked The Mod back to life. Making up for his previous error Dean Condon converted a Martin Haines through ball from a tight angle to reduce the deficit. As extra time went into the second half and The Mod pushed for the leveller RG seemed to let the pressure get to them and with 5 minutes to go were reduced to 10 men when their winger talked himself into 2 bookings in the space of 10 seconds. They then found themselves down to 9 after a nasty challenge resulted in a second yellow for RG's centre midfielder. With seconds remaining The Mod made the extra numbers count flooding the box for a long throw, the initial throw was cleared back to Neil Sweet whose pin point cross was flicked into the net by Ben Greatbatch to send the game to penalties.
Full Time AET - The Mod 3-3 RG Athletic
RG Penalty 1 - RG Blaze the ball over the bar, closer to the thames than the net - The Mod 0-0 RG
Mod Penalty 1 - Matty Anderson scores low to the left - keeper sent wrong way - The Mod 1-0 RG
RG Penalty 2 - RG score powerfully down the middle - The Mod 1-1 RG
Mod Penalty 2 - Callum Carlisle scores low to the left - keeper dives over the ball - The Mod 2-1 RG
RG Penalty 3 - RG Blaze over the bar again - Martin Haines knowin he is down for the 5th pen begs Mod players not to cheer when RG miss - The Mod 2-1 RG
Mod Penalty 3- Dean Condon scored low to the right - Keeper doesn't dive - The Mod 3-1 RG
RG Penalty 4- RG Score to keep shootout alive - Match point Mod- The Mod 3-2 RG
Mod Penalty 4 - Jamie Carstiars scores powerfully - Game Over - Cue RG breaking the referee's bike wheel.
Full Time- The Mod 3-3 RG Athletic (Mod win 4-2 on Pens)
