Witton Albion 0 Gateshead 1

12:00pm Sunday 10th February 2008

THERE was an inevitability about Paul Brayson's winner.

Football fate dictated that a former Northwich Victoria forward would be the one to end Witton's cup run in a dress rehearsal for this weekend's infinitely more important league rerun.

Gateshead will have learned little about Albion.

Jim Vince left out five first team regulars, plus cup tied Adam Morning and Tony Evans, for what turned out to be a low-key encounter.

Brayson, who could not agree terms to return to the team across the canal, won the tie with 20 minutes left, striking a 25-yard free kick from a central position past Albion's reserve team keeper Craig Ellison.

It was a rare moment of brilliance.

Witton never really got into a high gear throughout the whole tie.

Gateshead therefore enjoyed the better of the exchange but Ellison showed great presence to deny them, getting the better of one-on-ones with Graeme Armstrong and Wayne Phillips.

At the other end Dan Skelton gave a good account for the first hour with his best moment a run and cross on 15 minutes that just evaded the inrushing Adam Warlow.

The nearest the home side came to scoring was when Steve Brodie's shot was beaten out by Paul Musselwhite three minutes before Brayson's crucial strike decided the outcome.

Top scorer Adam Warlow looked out of sorts for Albion, blazing his one chance over and a heading another well wide of the target.

Brian Pritchard skippered the team on the day he equalled Alf Ashley's all-time club record of 604 appearances, and it was from a rare mistake when he lost his footing that presented Phillips with a great opportunity on 33 minutes but Ellison beat the ball away.

Reserve team players Kurtis Gill and Danny Gleave, the latter making his debut having previously been with Winsford United, were introduced for the final few minutes marked by a red card for one player from each team.

A flare up between the Tynesiders' towering defender James Curtis and Albion forward Tom Rutter saw both men sent off by referee Darren Bond.

Both players will automatically miss three matches and with Curtis only just coming back from injury his further enforced absence may well be sorely missed.

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Star Man: Craig Ellison
Albion: Ellison (GK), Coo, Pritchard, Kearney, Brownhill, Brodie (Gill 83), Brown, MacPherson (Gleave 83) Skelton, Warlow (Thornley 60), Rutter
Attendance: 255