Super sub Radford strikes to win cup tie for Skegness
Skegness Town bounced back from last week’s disappointment against Kimberley MW with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Maltby Main to progress to the next round of the UCL Cup on Saturday.
Kyle Radford netted the winner on 69 minutes, just three minutes after coming on and Skegness head of football Chris Rawlinson said: “We were pleased to get through as it is a tough place to go.
“The pitch is on a slope and it was chucking it down with rain for the first time this year.
“We also had a bit of a depleted squad with lads having to work with it being Bank Holiday weekend.
“So it was a potential banana skin for us.
“But, in all fairness, the lads who came in did ever so well.
“First half we controlled the game and we had plenty of chances.
“We should have been ahead by half- time and we weren't, so we were thinking here we go again – it's the same as Kimberley the week before and other times this season.
“To be fair, Maltby came out and had a go second half. But we defended resolutely and the back four were superb against that pressure.
“Then we introduced a few lads off the bench to rest and rotate, they made a huge difference and we got the win.”
With the front three refreshed from the bench, Skegness began to regain control with renewed strength and power to establish themselves in the attacking third.
And just three minutes after Radford's introduction, the breakthrough finally arrived.
A Skegness corner was delivered into the Maltby penalty area and, as the ball fell to Radford on the edge of the box, the substitute made no mistake, volleying the ball home to give the Lilywhites a deserved lead.
There was further drama when Declan Johnson appeared to have doubled the advantage, finding the back of the net, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.
That mattered little in the end, however, as Skegness remained composed during the closing stages and saw the game out comfortably.
After a frustrating second half in which Maltby had threatened to turn the momentum in their favour, the Lilywhites showed good character to weather the pressure, make the necessary changes and find a way to win.
Rawlinson added: “It was our first cup win in over 12 months, so we were really pleased to reach the next round.
“Cup runs do keep seasons ticking over and we are pushing for a top half finish and we now focus back on the league with two big home games ahead for us in our quest to get involved at the right end of the table.
“We will be back to having a full squad on Wednesday and we will see where we end up.”
Skegness are back in UCL Premier North action tonight (Wednesday) with a home game against Blackstones ahead of Saturday's trip to Sherwood Colliery.