Gainsborough Trinity’s fairytale Emirates FA Cup run has come to an end, falling to the hands of League Two side Harrogate Town in the second round.
A goal from Dean Cornelius was enough to seal the tie for Harrogate, with Trinity unable to match their record FA Cup run dating back to the 1886/87 season.
Weathering the Storm:
Trinity goalkeeper Dylan Wharton was called into action early on, after Harrogate showed dominance. He made a superb double save to deny Jack Muldoon a goal, as the Sulphurites tried to get an early lead.
After stopping the Harrogate pressure for the first 20 minutes, Gainsborough started to build into the game and start playing towards Harrogate’s net. Declan Howe stabbed an effort towards goal which was dragged wide, as Trinity struggled to create anything clear-cut in the first half
Wharton was called to action again 10 minutes before half time, after a long-range strike by Stephen Duke-McKenna. The winger cut inside and whipped his towards goal, forcing a good save out of the young goalkeeper.
Josh March came agonisingly close to giving the home side the league just five minutes before the interval. A cross was delivered by James Daly, which was poorly cleared into the path of Harrogate’s number 24, who volleyed it over the top of the bar into the stand behind.
Harrogate could considered themselves unlucky not to be in front at the break, but manager Russ Wilcox would no doubt have been happy with his side’s first 45 minutes.
Fighting the Battle:
Harrogate took a deserved lead just before the hour mark. Cornelius won a header lobbed in from the left wing, and placed it firmly past Wharton in net. It was unlucky for the Holy Blues, who had manage to quieten the Harrogate attack for the majority of the game.
The goal from the Sulphurites seemed to light a spark in Gainsborough, who played more positive football as they looked to find the equaliser.
The Holy Blues created plenty of half chances throughout the second half, trying to get themselves through on goal but unable to do anything in the final third. Declan Howe and Javelle Clarke worked well together up top, though struggled to find a chance to hit towards goal as Harrogate’s defence stood strong.
Despite the piled-on pressure from Gainsborough, largely encouraged by the 1,050 travelling fans, the Holy Blues couldn’t get themselves back into the game, having created very little to test the veteran James Belshaw in net for Harrogate.
The Dream Ends…
The FA Cup run that will be spoken about for years to come in Gainsborough Trinity’s history finally came to an end, with Sulphurite midfielder Dean Cornelius the heartbreaker for Holy Blues fans. Trinity broke a 72-year record to reach the FA Cup second round, edging past many in underdog triumphs throughout their charge.
It was a match the Gainsborough players will be proud of, but they couldn’t do enough to get themselves in the hat for the FA Cup third round.