AFC Liverpool suffered a narrow defeat in their first appearance in the FA Vase; when they lost 2-1 to Dinnington Town who hail from near Rotherham and play at a level higher than their hosts.

The reds, using the same wing back formation which destroyed Holker the previous week, started very brightly; it was obvious that they were not going to be intimidated by the bigger opposition. The home side was rewarded in the 12^th minute when a splendid passing move was finished in style by Matty Williams.

Dinnington responded to this set back by asserting themselves with some very strong tackles which clearly over stepped the mark at times. There was some censure from the referee, but not consistently enough which would have consequences later. The visitors began to gain more possession and the equaliser arrived after 30 minutes when Morris turned the ball home after some sloppy defensive play by the reds.

Undeterred, this was followed by AFC Liverpool’s best spell of the match, with some fine football on show. As it has been seen all season the main instigator was Ryan Wignall who ran several defenders ragged before shooting over after 33 minutes; two minutes later he was unlucky to see a 20 yard shot fly just wide of the goal. However, after 40 minutes, Dinnington found a way of dealing with him when a series of unpunished bad tackles led him to being replaced by Opare after being injured; sadly for the reds their main attacking threat had disappeared.

The remainder of the half belonged to the visitors who moved forward more confidently having seen off Wignall, and only a fine save by Paul Willis kept them out.

In the 47^th minute an amazing scramble saw the reds nearly take the lead on several occasions; the ball was cleared off the line twice before being pushed wide from Charlie Opare’s shot. To make matters worse Liam Coyne was injured and struggled through the rest of the match.

Two minutes later the opposition took the lead when a header by Morris found the net from ten yards out for his second goal of the match. The next 20 minutes saw an uneventful display from both teams as they shared possession throughout; this was not enough for the reds.

After 70 minutes AFC Liverpool substitute Andy McCoy was booked for dissent after venting his displeasure following another fierce tackle from behind. Ten minutes later, matters got much worse when a disputed offside decision led a clearly frustrated McCoy to display his feelings again leading him to be sent off after a second yellow card.

The match ended disappointingly for the home side when a series of attacks came to nothing; the visitors would look at this match as a job well done as they stifled the reds when required whilst also finding those winning goals.

This was not the best of days for AFC Liverpool, knocked out of the cup, a few injuries to important players and a suspension to follow. Hopefully they can return to winning ways at home on Saturday when they return to league action against Oldham Town.