Avro suffer their second cup exit in a row after a 3-1 defeat to fellow Northern Premier League West Division Side Clitheroe FC.
It wouldn’t take long for the Ro to get a chance, as five minutes in, new signing Ryley Smith would play the ball into the box from the left flank for Justin Iwobi. Unfortunately for Iwobi, his header would go wide. Five minutes later, Kyle Hawley found himself on the end of a well-placed free kick in the box, but his resulting shot went over the crossbar and out for a goal kick.
Unfortunately for the Ro, plenty of mistakes occurred throughout the half, and eventually, Clitheroe would capitalize around the 30th-minute mark. A mistake in the midfield allowed the visitors to send a through ball into Lewis Trickett, who tipped the ball past Cam Mason and put the Lancashire side ahead.
Despite being a goal down, Avro would respond well as Kyle Hawley managed to break through the visitors’ defence from the left-hand side and cut into the box before firing the ball towards the net. Luckily for the number eight, it deflected off a Clitheroe player and into the back of the net gifting the hosts an equaliser.
Heading into the 62nd minute, Clitheroe suddenly found themselves ahead after a pass to Fortune Maphosa was intercepted inside the box by Leon Creech, who then slotted the ball past Mason. After the goal, the Ro immediately had a chance to get an equaliser as a pass into the box found Hawley on the right-hand side, but his effort went wide.
In the 70th minute, Clitheroe played the ball into the box from the right, hoping to find one of their attackers; however, the ball bounced off an Avro defender and into the back of the net to make it 3-1 to the visitors.
Despite having plenty of chances throughout the remainder of the match, the Ro were unable to find the two goals they needed to tie the game up and bring the match to penalties, meaning the visitors progress through to the next round of the FA Trophy.
Lineups:
Avro – Mason, Thiam, Owen, Maphosa, Kenny, Morrow (77” Warburton), Djankpata (81” Igwenwanne), Hawley, Iwobi (61” Putnam), Cottrell, Smith
Subs not Used – Davidson, Gairns
Clitheroe – McClenaghan, Bell (73” Hanson), J Carroll, B Carroll (79” Dwyer), Olawumi, Ditch, Creech (86” Massey), Windass, Gonzales, Trickett, Parny (79” Lancaster)
Subs not Used – McConville
