Blues scrape through

03 September 2012 16:54
A last gasp goal from Paul Scott saw a lacklustre Nelson side through to the next round of the FA Vase.

Things got off to the worst possible start on Saturday afternoon when the visitors - languishing at the foot of the Northern Counties East Division One table with a goal difference of -12 after just five games - took the lead through a Chris McDonald shot after just two minutes.

Nelson looked disjointed and in disarray at the back, and it was some surprise when they grabbed an equaliser on 15 minutes when Danny Boyle slotted past the keeper.

But parity did not last long, and some shocking defending out on the left allowed Oliver Bradbury to shoot across Billy Carrington and into the far corner of the net to put Appleby back in front.

Nelson again had an unlikely chance to equalise before half-time, but after being sent clear with a drilled long ball, Boyle could only fire his shot wide of the keeper and wide of the right hand upright.

Nelson fared little better in the second half, but were given a lifeline on 65 minutes when, after a save by the keeper, a Blues forward was upended as he closed in on the rebound.

The referee sent the Appleby defender off and Boyle smashed a neat penalty to the right of the visiting keeper to bring the scores level once again.

For the remainder of the game, neither side looked capable of grabbing a winner, but with the final whistle looming, a Nelson corner from the right was touched on across goal, and Scott was there to scruffily poke into the bottom left hand corner to give the Blues an undeserved win.

So Nelson move through to a home tie in the second qualifying round against Wigan Robin Park, but they will have to raise their game somewhat in that tie if they are to progress any further in this season's competition.

Source: FOOTYMAD