A goal from debutant James Buckley in extra time saw the Reds record their first win of the season as they beat second placed Flixton in the North West Counties League Cup.

‘It’s been a long time coming’, said AFC Liverpool manager Paul Moore, who saw his side finally break their duck in their eighteenth game of the season. ‘I thought throughout the match we were tremendous, absolutley tremendous and it’s a credit to the lads that they’ve kept on going.’

The only goal in the game came in the one hundred and second minute after Buckley took the ball off Liam Nethercote before firing low into the corner to give the Reds a deserved lead. The regulation ninety minutes had seen plenty of endeavour from both teams but few goal scoring opportunities and it wasn’t until the first period of extra time that either goal had come under serious threat with the Reds ratcheting up the pressure until Buckley finally claimed the only goal of the game.

The first half promised more than it delivered when Steven Williams, captain for the match, drove forward within the first thirty seconds and fired in a low shot from twenty five yards. For the remaining forty five minutes though, a Steven Jones effort that flashed over the bar and a curling attempt from Nethercote, both from the edge of the area, was all that the Reds could muster on Ian Harrison’s goal.

Denis Barlow, making his debut for the Reds, was only slightly more troubled at the other end.  Jake Williamson and Thomas Smith both got efforts on target but both lacked the power to make them anything but routine saves for the goalkeeper while Lois Mayanara got too much power behind his volley when the Reds’ defence had difficulty dealing with a Andrew Keogh free kick.

The second half was almost fifteen minutes old before Barlow had his hands warmed dealing with a fine twenty five yard strike from Williamson. It was then a further fifteen minutes before the Flixton striker had another chance, sneaking in between the Reds back four but he elected to shoot early from the edge of the area when taking it on a couple more steps may have presented a better opportunity. Five minutes from time, Barlow was once again Williamson’s equal as he turned over another twenty five yard effort.

Having been short on attacking threat, the Reds came close to snatching a late winner through Nevil Picton, another debutant. After collecting a Williams short corner at the corner of the box, his curling effort towards the far corner saw Harrison and Daniel McDonnell clatter into one another as between them they diverted the ball behind for a corner.

So it was for the fourth time this season the Reds went into extra time and perhaps the experience was to their advantage as they suddenly became much more a potent threat. After McDonnell illegally ended Buckley’s run on the edge of the area, Williams saw his free kick bound for the top corner before Harrison intervened with a fine save. From the resulting corner, Carl Furlong’s header was cleared off the line and in the aftermath there were enough blue and white shirts defending to clear the ball to safety. Another Furlong header, this time from a Jones corner, dropped two foot the wrong side of the post and a minute later the Reds’ striker saw the ball break for him only for Jack Dickson to get back to get in a block, though at the expense of a corner from which Williams found Nethercote before he handed over to Buckley to break the deadlock.

A minute into the second period of extra time a ball forward by Williams held up in the wind, allowing Nethercote to get there ahead of Harrison and just as it seemed as though it would be a simple finish into an empty net to calm Red nerves, Dickson raced back to clear off the line to ensure that Reds’ fans could still not breathe easily. It was the Flixton defender who came close to denying the first win in the dying seconds as with uncanny striking instinct, he guided the ball toward the far corner only to see Barlow turn the ball over the bar with a fine reaction save to send the Reds through to the third round where they’ll face AFC Blackpool at Valerie Park.

Flixton 0-1 AFC Liverpool
Buckley 102′

Attedance: 34

Photo courtesy of Dave Williams.