FREE-SCORING Worcester City will face Coventry United in the last 32 of the FA Vase after making the latter stages of an FA competition for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Sunday’s dramatic 2-1 extra-time win over Shepshed Dynamo at the Victoria Ground saw City into the fourth round of the competition for the first time since the Blue and Whites tackled Telford United in the FA Trophy in 2000.
Ash Vincent’s men were rewarded for their efforts with a home tie on Sunday, January 12 and some bookies are offering odds of 25-1 for City to lift the trophy in May.
An extra-time strike from Luke English saw City emerge on top in an exhausting clash in which the home side had to dig deep after being reduced to ten men after 57 minutes when Kurtis Mewies was shown a second yellow card.
It looked like a long afternoon for City after Shepshed scored with just 35 seconds on the clock when John King drove forward to put Matt Melbourne clear to fire home from an acute angle.
Deep into added time in the first half, City won a free kick for offside on the edge of their own box which was thumped forward by keeper Dan Jezeph. The ball looked like it was going straight out at the other end but Sean Brain beat Reif Armstrong to it and crossed back into Chris Withington who finished from close range to make it 1-1.
Despite Mewies being shown a second yellow for tugging back Hurst on the edge of the box, Vincent’s men comfortably soaked up pressure from the visitors who were unable to make their extra man advantage count.
Two minutes before the end of the first period of extra-time City won a corner which was whipped in by Liam Lockett. The visitors cleared to wide on their right which was picked back up by Lockett who crossed back deep into the box.
Dynamo headed clear but straight into the path of English who steamed in to hit an unstoppable volley straight through keeper Matty White to make it 2-1.
The visitors laid siege to the City goal in the second period of extra-time and were agonisingly close to an equaliser in the dying seconds when, with whole team including the keeper encamped in City’s half, a lofted ball to City’s back post looked certain to be headed home by King.
However, Jamie Smith got to the ball first to head clear and secure victory for City.