Witton Albion 1 Prescot Cables 2

8:00am Thursday 20th September 2007

WITTON failed to carry their impressive league form into the FA Cup and crashed out of the competition at home to Prescot Cables on Saturday.

Going into the game Albion had conceded only twice this season and not once in the past 10 hours of football.

That the visitors breached their backline twice in the second half is to their credit but it also highlighted Witton's defensive frailties on the day.

Brian Pritchard came close to opening the scoring for the home side in the 16th minute, his thundering header from a Rob Lloyd cross struck the angle of post and bar when it looked to have beaten Mottram in the Prescot goal.

On the half hour Albion winger Mark Peers set off on a marauding run down the right, however striker Dean Crowe was always stretching to get his head to the resulting cross.

Neither side looked like they would make the breakthrough in a lacklustre first half - the game being played more like a pre-season friendly than an FA Cup tie.

Witton's breakthrough came in first-half injury time when Peers and Crowe again combined in a move that mirrored their earlier attempt.

Peers on the right hit an early cross to Crowe who found himself with acres of space in the Prescot box. The striker had time to control the ball and despatch his shot past the advancing Mottram to give Witton the lead.

Unimpressed with his side's first-half performance, Witton manager Jim Vince replaced the goal-scoring Dean Crowe with Rod Thornley and was forced to swap Ian Kearney for the injured Rob Lloyd.

Warlow and Brown both had chances to double Albion's lead in the early stages of the second period, but on the hour they paid the price for not doing so.

Cavell Coo swung his boot at a clearance in the Witton defence but failed to deal with the loose ball. Prescot's leading scorer Darren Byers pounced on the error and fired his shot beneath the diving Kennedy.

The home side rallied and had chances to restore their lead, however on numerous occasions the ball sailed over the Prescot bar from both close and long range.

On 80 minutes referee Mick Denton awarded Prescot a free kick 25 yards out - after he judged Albion substitute Ian Kearney had handled the ball.

Molyneux's driven free kick hit the Witton defensive wall and deflected beyond Kennedy's reach.

The winning goal may have been harsh on Witton but in truth summed up their afternoon, only Mark Peers showed the same quality as in recent weeks.

Prescot go into the next round after a hard fought victory, which they will consider well deserved.