National League side Borehamwood shocked AFC Bournemouth to set up a fifth round tie with Everton at Goodison Park with a 1-0 win over the Dorset club.
National League side Borehamwood shocked AFC Bournemouth to set up a fifth round tie with Everton at Goodison Park with a 1-0 win over the Dorset club.
Mark Ricketts 38th minute strike sealed victory for the Hertfordshire-based club who deserved their victory at Vitality Stadium. The Borehamwood captain finished neatly from the edge of the box after Gavin Kilkenny’s sloppy clearance fell straight to the midfielder whose shot clipped the inisde of post as it beat Freddie Woodman.
Despite bringing on Ryan Christie, Todd Cantwell, Philip BIlling and Dominic Solanke, Scott Parker’s side failed to create too many clear cut chances as Luke Garrard’s side showed why they are flying high at the top of the National League.
Parker made nine changes from the 1-0 win over Barnsley last weekend handing three full debuts to James Hill, Nat Phillips and Freddie Woodman.
Lewis Cook donned the captain’s armband in the absence of Lloyd Kelly whilst Parker’s other new signings Ethan Laird and Kieffer Moore missed out through injury. Winger Siriki Dembele - who also joined on deadline day - was cup-tied and Gary Cahill was serving a one match ban for a last minute sending off against Barnsley.
A fairly uneventful first half saw limited chances for both sides and apart from an early scare for Woodman, whose sloppy pass out from the back was nearly intercepted by a Borehamwood forward, the game looked destined to go into the break all square.
Parker’s side had a lot of possession but were unable to do anything with the ball. A lack of cutting edge in the final third coupled with some resolute defending from Garrard’s side frustrated the home team.
Then in classic FA Cup fashion, Borehamwood captain Mark Ricketts put the National League side firmly in the driving seat with a neatly finished effort from the edge of the box.
Jacob Mendy’s initial cross was carelessly cleared by Kilkenny straight into the path of the Borehamwood captain who placed his shot in off the post to send the away fans delirious with joy.
Borehamwood came close to doubling their lead early in the second half after Will Evans’ looping header nearly outsmarted Woodman but the CHerries keeper was able to palm the defender’s header away and keep it to just the one goal deficit.
Parker had introduced Cantwell and Christie at the break then BIlling just before the hour mark to spark some life into the home side. Christie provided some much needed energy in the attacking third but despite increasing the pressure on Garrard’s side, Parker’s men were unable to carve out any clear cut opportunities.
A free kick wide from the left hand side of the box was whipped in viciously by Christie just after the hour mark which registered Bournemouth’s first shot on goal in what was becoming an ever increasingly frustrating night for the Dorset club.
Christie then set up Billing with teh Danish midfielder bursting inot the box after latching on to the Scots through ball, but could not keep the bouncing ball down as he tried to lob Ashby-Hammond and found the roof of the net much to the despair of the home support.
Not even the addition of Solanke could alter Bournemouth’s fate with a stoppage time effort that the striker dragged wide from around 8 yards out as he swivelled on the ball in the box.
An excellent defensive display from the National League side secured a well deserved victory for a team sitting fifth in the National League and 70 places below the Cherries and will now travel to Liverpool to take on Frank Lampard's Everton in the next round.