Manship on the spot to secure cup victory for battling Melton Town

Melton Town came from behind to book their place in the second round of the League Cup after a hard-fought victory over Community Football Academy on Saturday.

CFA were the visitors to Melton on a sunny autumn afternoon, and it was the visitors who dominated the early stages.

Their first attack saw Zak Yusuf race down the wing before finding Umar Husain in the box, but the striker couldn’t keep his shot down.

On 12 minutes, Jaseem Khamkar and Ryan Shelton combined with a neat one-two before Shelton let fly with a shot that brought a comfortable save from Bill Harrison.

The visitors’ pressure finally paid off in the 14th minute. A long ball over the top caught the Melton defence out, with Yusuf beating the offside trap before rounding the keeper and slotting the ball into an empty net.

The game then settled into a midfield battle, with neither side able to create much until Melton finally threatened in the 41st minute.

A back pass to the CFA keeper was challenged by Jack Hickey, and when Aamir Bham went down under a soft challenge, the referee waved play on. Hickey pounced on the loose ball and smashed a low shot into the bottom corner to level the game.

CFA responded immediately, with Adam Majat going on a mazy run and beating two defenders before firing just the wrong side of the upright.

The final action of the first half almost saw the visitors regain the lead.

A CFA corner found Ryan Shelton, whose header crashed against the post.

CFA continued to have the better of the opening stages of the second half. Within a minute, another corner fell to Adam Naeem in the middle of the six-yard box, but he fired over the bar.

Three minutes later, Yojnes Mihoubi won the ball 30 yards from the Melton goal and drove towards the box before hitting a low shot that flashed across goal and wide.

Then, just after the hour mark and against the run of play, Melton took the lead.

Harry Clarke drove through midfield before finding David Briggs on the edge of the area.

Briggs turned and hit a low shot that appeared to be heading wide, but Tom Manship slid in to redirect the ball into the net and put Melton 2-1 ahead.

CFA pushed for an equaliser and came desperately close in the 77th minute. Mihoubi’s low cross found Hami at the back post, but his shot was blocked at the foot of the upright by Mo Lamin.

Melton almost added a third in the dying minutes when a corner found Alfie Bunch at the back of the six-yard box. He headed the ball back towards goal, where Briggs attempted to backheel it into the net, only for the ball to be cleared off the line.

The final whistle was followed by a 22-man melee, with surprisingly no-one receiving a red card!

It was a typical cup tie, with plenty of battling and incident, and Melton will deservedly go into the hat for the second round.