Mossley v Lincoln United - the Pix & the Words

Aah, the sniff of a Trophy - and at this stage the sniff of £1,350 - certainly not to be sniffed at. Got to the ground at 1415 - i.e. late cus I should have been there at 1400 prompt for the dreaded "photocall" with my sponsored player Steve Burke. Never mind the pic was took (hope my delay didn't lead to him being left on the bench !).

The game - Mossley were looking for revenge for a 1-2 home league defeat by the same team in early September ("The Siege of Mario Ziccardi's Elbow" as it was called). The first twenty minutes or so were a touch drab to say the least. However on 29 minutes David Eyres picked up the ball on the left and with Welly shouting "HIT IT !", he sold an outrageous dummy to two defenders (and and at least 30 fans) before cutting inside and delivering a sublime chip over Ziccardi's flailing hand.

1-0 - Flail Mario Flail !!



Now the freaky thing here was my Golden Goal ticket was EXACTLY the same number as the week before (i.e. 28) - what are the odds on that ? (I reckon Emma's got a job-lot of number 28s in a vain attempt to avoid payout !) Ten minutes later Chris Ward ran on the a ball through the middle - keeper came - and another chip made it 2-0 - and all I got was the empty net !

2-0 (honest - he chipped it into this very empty net !)



It was 2-0 at half-time and Mossley looked to be in total control - and for once the air of pessimism was strangely absent during the half-time tipple.

Ten minutes into the second half it was "game over" as an unmarked Chris Ward received a low ball from the Mossley right to turn it in for his second and Mossley's third.

3-0



Mossley were now rampant and giving their fans some flawless stuff to enjoy. New signing Adie Orr then entered the fray and made an immediate impact, outstripping the Lincoln defence and smacking the ball against the post. The rebound came out and between them, keeper Ziccardi and defender Hawley managed to divert the ball back in to the empty net !

4-0 (oops !)



Chris Ward then managed to miss a golden opportunity for his hat-trick, putting the ball wide with the goal looking very inviting.. feel free to "guess the words" behind the covered up face !



Then with five minutes to go we saw another edition of the "David Eyres Masterclass" when Mossley got a free-kick just outside the "D". He lined it up, picked his spot, and put it there - only one word for it - "bloomin' brilliant" !

5-0 (nearly - the ball is leaving David Eyre's "golden boot" for the net !).



There was still time for Lincoln to snatch a consolation goal through Cann (don't know about you but I always reckon 5-1 sounds more of a trouncing than 5-0 - discuss !) but today was Mossley's day - the £1,350 was dutifully trousered - roll on Monday for the draw for the next round.

In a vain attempt to find something to moan about in the club afterwards - one person said "I'd rather have the three points", another moaned "There's nothing to moan about !". The future's definitely looking brighter though at Seel Park. Tuesday sees a Manchester Premier Cup game at home to Salford City (to date the only team to have beaten the "mighty" FC United of Manchester) - so that's one to watch - except me who will be drinking Guinness in a bar somewhere in County Wicklow !