Buckhurst Hill 2-1 Stow
Stow were dumped out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle for the first time in five years, losing 2-1 to Buckhurst Hill. In each of the last four seasons Stow had beaten step four opposition, but this time the roles were reversed, with newly-promoted Essex Senior League side Hill deserving winners.
But it could have been a different result, had Stow made the most of a bright opening. Inside the first five minutes Samir Bihmoutine headed wide when well-placed, and then Stow had a stonewall penalty turned down for a blatant hand ball in the box. Hill were looking dangerous on the break though, and Lamar Joseph-Johnson had to be quick off his line to stop a one-on-one effort.
Bihmoutine had a one-on-one effort blocked, and Michael Osei could only pick out the keeper with the rebound. Matt Walsh then played in Demary Anyadike whose shot was blocked on the line. But that miss woke up the home side, and they were soon ahead when Jake Moss curled into the bottom corner from well outside the box.
Hill were now causing problems for Stow, and if it wasn’t for some poor finishing, could have been further ahead. Bihmoutine went closer still for Stow, having a powerful effort turned around the post by Dan Blockley in the home goal.
But on the stroke of half time, Hill made it 2-0 when Keaton Moore lost his marker and was allowed a free header from a corner. Within seconds of the restart Callum Ibe had the ball in the back of the net, but was adjudged to have been offside.
As expected, Stow came out with plenty of fight in the second half, and reduced the arrears on 67 when Connor Scully curled delightfully into the same bottom corner that Moss found earlier in the game. But ultimately, they couldn’t draw a leveller out of a stubborn Hill defence.
And the game was pretty much up when Brad Empson was shown a straight red for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity when he clipped the heels of Sonny Shilling when the Hill forward ran across him just outside the box. The rest of the chances that fell went to the home side, with Sulley Zuhdu hitting the outside of the post with a one-on-one effort, and Shilling being denied a goal with a superb last-ditch block by Kieron Cathline.
For Stow, it will be something of a wake-up call as the league season starts next weekend at Welwyn Garden City.
