Eastwood CFC make club history with place in FA Cup First Qualifying Round for first time

After edging past Rugby Borough in the previous round, Coton Green were expected to provide stern Preliminary Round opposition, but the men from Coronation Park produced a dominant display from start to finish.

The victory has earned them a home tie with Grimsby Borough with the tie set to be played on Saturday, 30th August.

Joint boss Daryll Thomas was delighted with the win but angry at a bad challenge that saw skipper Aaron O'Connor have to come off injured.

“Obviously I’m delighted with the result but I’m even more grateful that Aaron isn’t more seriously injured,” he said.

“That is one of the worst challenges I’ve seen on a football pitch and how he’s not been sent off I’ll never know. There was only one team playing football today.”

Joint boss Martin Ball added: “That was a great result. We played some really good stuff.

“It was important to back up the win in midweek with a good performance today and we’re in the hat for the next round.”

The game was effectively over by half-time thanks to goals from Noh Abraha, O’Connor, and Tyler Blake.

Making his full debut, Abraha looked electric down the right flank and gave his full-back a torrid afternoon.

His moment came on 19 minutes when he cut inside from the touchline and curled a stunning strike into the top corner to open the scoring.

Fifteen minutes later, Eastwood’s skipper doubled the advantage.

A free kick from Terry Hawkridge was lofted into the box, where Blake rose highest to flick it on. O’Connor latched onto the pass, rounded the keeper, and calmly slotted home to make it 2–0.

Just five minutes later it was three. A flowing move involving Hawkridge, Abraha, and O’Connor sliced through the home defence, leaving Blake with a simple finish from close range.

Frustrated and outplayed, the hosts resorted to physical challenges.

Just before the break, a reckless tackle on O’Connor forced the captain off injured.

To the disbelief of the Eastwood bench, the referee brandished only a yellow card before sending manager Thomas to the stands for his furious reaction.

The hosts made all five substitutions during the interval in an attempt to change the game, but Eastwood remained firmly in control.

On the hour mark, Blake put the result beyond doubt. Chasing a ball over the top, he shrugged off the defence and coolly finished one-on-one with the goalkeeper to claim his second of the afternoon and his 50th goal for the club

From there, Eastwood managed the game professionally, restricting Coton Green to no real chances and ensuring a clean sheet to seal a famous 4–0 victory.

In the UCL Premier North, three goals in the last 15 minutes saw Kimberley MW produce a superb 3-0 away win at Gresley Rovers.

Finley Ryder set them on their way on 75 minutes and added a second on 8t minutes before Lewis Weaver put the icing on the cake in the last minute.

The win built on their 2-0 midweek victory over AFC Mansfield, Kole Lambert with a brace, and puts them six points better off than the same time last season.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​