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PREMIER CUP MATCH REPORT: AFC DUNSTABLE 2-0 LUTON TOWN

28 July 2017

Club News

PREMIER CUP MATCH REPORT: AFC DUNSTABLE 2-0 LUTON TOWN

28 July 2017

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The Hatters failed to win their fifth consecutive Bedfordshire FA Premier Cup title as they were beaten 2-0 by Southern League Division One Central side AFC Dunstable at Creasey Park.

Nathan Frater scored the opening goal 30 minutes in, before Adiel Mannion doubled the lead just before the hour.

The game got off to a quick start with the Hatters moving the ball nicely, but the physicality of the opposition was clear with some tough tackles flying in.

Awford's side fashioned their first chance of the game when Jack James' well weighted pass down the right found Arthur Read, he picked out Michael Shamalo on the edge of the AFC box who tried to curl into the bottom left corner, but it flew just wide.

Left back Corey Panter went very close to giving the visitors the lead in the 16th minute, when he met James' cross on the far side of the penalty area. He tried to bend it first time into the bottom right corner – with Jamie Head beaten in the Dunstable goal – but it drifted just to the right.

The hosts then took the lead on the half hour mark, when BJ Christie pounced on Harry Isted's pass to James on the edge of the Hatters' box. The Dunstable man squared it across the face of goal and Nathan Frater smashed it home from ten yards.

Shamalo nearly restored parity in the most unlikely of circumstances, when his back post cross from the right with eight minutes left of the first half to play nearly caught out Head as the wind pushed it towards the top left corner, but it just missed and went out for a goal kick.

AFC went close to extending their one goal advantage six minutes after the restart, as Christie's cross was met by Jermaine Hall at the near post, but he couldn't direct his shot towards goal.

They made no mistake though two minutes before the 60-minute mark, as Adiel Mannion met Hall's low cross, with his shot taking a deflection to take it past Isted and into the back of the Town net to give the hosts a two goal cushion.

Town nearly halved the deficit late on when McQuoid jumped to meet Cotter's right wing cross, but a Dunstable defender did well to get there first and head it away from danger, with AFC going on to see out the result.

Town line-up: Isted, James (Neufville 50), Jones, Mead, Panter (Byron 65), Swindells (Belgrove 58), Cotter, Smith, Read (Stead 75), McQuoid, Shamalo (Tomlinson 58)

Byron, Neufville, Tomlinson, Stead, Belgrove.

 


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