Nick Wellecomme puts the Sporting Khalsa keeper under pressure. Pic: Pamela Mullins
Nick Wellecomme puts the Sporting Khalsa keeper under pressure. Pic: Pamela Mullins
Nick Wellecomme puts the Sporting Khalsa keeper under pressure. Pic: Pamela Mullins

The two goalkeepers played a starring role as Chasetown FC squeezed past Sporting Khalsa in the Walsall Senior Cup.

The 1-0 scoreline came about after a host of top saves from visiting stopper Liam Stanton, while Chasetown’s number one Danny Watson was also in fine form between the posts.

On top of that, the woodwork was struck four times in a pulsating game with the incentive of the winners meeting Walsall FC in the next round.

Chasetown boss Craig Harris rang the changes with only Simon Brown and Danny Bragoli the two to keep their place in the starting line up from Saturday’s fixture, with a notable returnee in central defence, club captain Richard Teesdale.

On the quarter hour, Khalsa’s Jon Cordy made a great block to deny Nick Wellecomme after Danny Smith had teed him up, before Khalsa’s Alec Roberts drove a shot that beat Watson and came back off the post.

Chasetown then thought the ball was never going to go in. Smith fed Wellecomme whose shot came back off the post, the follow up from Lee Butler struck the post and then Smith was denied by a defender throwing himself in front of the ball.

The Scholars eventually forced their way through and it was another Wellecomme and Smith combination with the number nine crossing from the dead ball line, missing out keeper Stanton at the near post and Smith netted from six yards with a powerful finish.

Stanton made a top save to his left to keep out Brown before Watson matched him palming over a Sam Pearson drive from the edge of the area to keep it 1-0 at the interval.

Five minutes after the break, Chasetown beat Stanton for the second time when Butler’s shot looked destined to make it 2-0 only for Cordy to slide black and clear the ball off the line.

Danny Smith's effort finds the net. Pic: Pamela Mullins
Danny Smith’s effort finds the net. Pic: Pamela Mullins

Watson kept out a Mark Habbershaw effort as Khalsa continued to create chances in what was still chiefly a home-side dominated match.

Khalsa earned their luck with their determination and Cordy almost sliced a Butler cross into his own net, only for the ball to strike team mate Craig Radford and spin over the crossbar.

Man of the match Stanton saved a one-on-one with sub Joe Halsall with the rebound falling to Butler whose shot seemed destined for the top corner but for another fingertip save.

Watson made the save of the game though, somehow clawing out a header from Pearson which seemed destined to make it 1-1.

There was still time for Paul Sullivan to rattle the post in an entertaining game that could easily have finished 6-3.

Chasetown:
Watson, Evans, Keenan, T Williams, Westwood, Teesdale, Butler, Bragoli (Halsall, HT), Wellecomme, Smith (Sullivan, 75 mins), Brown (Stephens, 56 mins). Subs not used: Farmer, Price.
Sporting Khalsa: Stanton, Uppal, H Williams (Barrett, 74 mins), Lawley (Holcroft, 82 mins), Cordy, Radford, Campbell, Wood, Pearson, Habbershaw, Roberts (Hughes, 70 mins). Sub not used: Tarbuck.

Click below to see more of Pamela Mullins’ pictures from the game: