Toothless Parish brushed aside by Wolves
Hamilton Parish 0
Wolves 2
Wolves navigated safely beyond the FA Cup preliminary round with minimum resistance from ten-men Hamilton Parish at Wellington Oval yesterday.
Second-half goals from Kyle Brangman and substitute Marcus Ming punctuated a dominant display by the visiting side who were a cut above their opponents in every department.
After a handful of close calls, Brangman gave Wolves a deserved lead with a calm finish before Ming killed the game off with a thunderous left-footed strike from 30 yards two minutes from the end.
Parish’s afternoon then went from bad to worse as midfielder Joki Fox picked up a second booking in second-half stoppage time for a late tackle on George Dyer and was sent off.
“I have to congratulate my team for their discipline and team spirit,” Torry Davis, the Wolves player-coach said. “The goals were well taken, they were quality.”
With Alleyn Francis, Tamauri Tucker and Lamelle Paynter pulling the strings in a five-man midfield, Wolves took early control and bombarded the Parish goal with waves of attacks to keep goalkeeper Nigel Burgess busy.
But for all their dominance the visiting side had nothing to show for it at the break.
Wolves created plenty of space in the attacking third but lacked cutting edge.
Tucker blew a golden opportunity when he placed a free header from Alleyn Francis’s cross over the bar.
Brangman then skilfully skipped past several tackles but chipped over the bar as Burgess came off his line to narrow the angle.
Francis tested Burgess with an effort with the outside of his right boot while defender George Dyer also brought off a save from the experienced goalkeeper.
Parish’s chances were few and far between during the opening stanza but they did threaten to score twice against the run of play as Wolves were caught flat-footed.
Striker Jeremiah Steede squandered two breakaways after being played through, which ultimately came back to haunt the home team after the break.
Now playing with the wind at their back, Wolves picked up where they left off at the start of the second half and their relentless pressure paid off when Brangman scored what proved to be the winner.
Latching onto Paynter’s defence-splitting pass, Brangman took a touch before slotting past Burgess, who failed to cover the angle.
After Francis and Dyer tested Burgess with long-range efforts, Ming put the game further beyond reach with a superb goal from distance.
Gaining possession in the middle of the park, the forward unleashed a ferocious left-footed shot from 30 yards that soared into the top left corner.
“Marcus’s goal was top of the line, it looked like a Kyle Lightbourne goal,” Davis said. “It was a well-taken goal and I would like to see him score more.”
Parish rarely threatened in the second half with their best chance falling to substitute Raekwon Hare, who brought off a fine reflex save from goalkeeper Aaron Edness from point-blank range.
With Wolves coasting to victory, Parish were reduced to ten men when Fox received his marching orders for a clumsy tackle on Dyer, which pretty much summed up the home team’s frustration.
TEAMS
Scorers
Wolves (Brangman 54, Ming 88)
Hamilton Parish (4-4-2): N Burgess — J Outerbridge, M Ingham, A Smith, K Cann — J Fox, K Darrell (sub: R Hare, 46min), J Hunt-Tucker, I Creighton — D Roger (sub: D Minks, 74), J Steede. Substitutes not used: A Minks-Coke, E Parsons, M Smith, C Wade. Booked: Hunt-Tucker, Fox. Sent off: Fox.
Wolves (4-5-1): A Edness — Anthony Francis, G Dyer, A Brangman, R Swan — Alleyn Francis (sub: T Davis, 85), L Paynter, K Brangman (sub: L Evans, 70), T Tucker, R Ford — R Butterfield (sub: M Ming, 60). Substitutes not used: P Hayward, S Bremar, C Holdipp. Booked: Paynter, Ford, Ming.
Referee: A Augustus