The Saints Reserves are out of the Pip Samuel sponsored League Cup after a shock 1-2 defeat to Brecon Northcote.
Saints goalscorer Rob Snedden.
Playing on the bottom pitch and with the wind behind them the Saints dominated the first half but found goals hard to come by against a determined Northcote side. We could of gone ahead in the second minute when Jake Davies went close at the back post from a Dan Jones free kick but the visiting keeper made a good save.
More pressure followed, the returning Rob Snedden went close with two long range efforts but again the Northcote keeper saved well. The Saints were dealt a blow after twenty minutes when top scorer Darren Horrigan limped off with an ankle injury, Horrigan had looked lively early on and along with Snedden looked our main threat.
Snedden finally broke the deadlock on 37 minutes with a strike from outside the box which gave the visiting keeper no chance. 1-0.
We continued to press but the youngsters closed us down at every opportunity, their work rate was excellent throughout. Ht 1-0
Northcote saw more of the ball in the second half but we still had the lions share of possession but again struggled to break them down and in the 59th minute a mistake at the back saw the visitors grab an equaliser. 1-1.
As we pushed on for the winner another counter attack in the 77th minute saw Northcote take the lead for the first time. With time running out manager Andrew Harris pushed players on, Chris Preece went close with a header, Snedden was again unlucky but to the visitors credit they tackled and blocked for their lives. We had 4 or 5 corners in the last few minutes but each time the ball was cleared to safety. Ft 1-2.
Well done to Northcote who are a very young energetic side, I felt that’s what we lacked today, we seemed laboured and maybe thought we only had to turn up to win. It was good to see Rob Snedden playing again after a couple of years out and he would get my man of the match for his performance.
