Penalty heartbreak for Peterborough Sports as FA Cup first round dreams slip away

Sports and Rushall Olympic could hardly be separated across the two matches between the sides in two days but in the end, Sports saw their dreams of a first ever appearance in the FA Cup round evaporate as Dan Jarvis’s penalty was saved by Paul White.

The two sides had played out a 0-0 draw on the night but Sports had by far the better chances but could not convert any of them and had to roll the dice on penalty kicks.

Both sides took four perfect penalties before White dived to his right to deny Dan Jarvis before Ethan McLeod stepped up to fire Rushall to their first round debut and a home tie against League Two Accrington Stanley.

Sports could hardly have given anymore on the night and had to battle through almost 45 minutes with ten men after Michael Gyasi was send off for two yellow cards; a dive and kicking the ball away.

Terell Pennant’s red card in extra time restored parity on the night, giving Sports renewed hope but it was their visitors who ended the night celebrating a win which came well against the balance in play in the 120 minutes.

Sports named an unchanged line-up from Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Dales Lane and started in much the same fashion.

They had the better of the first half and would likely have been disappointed to not be leading at the break.

Michael Gyasi was cautioned for a dive after what looked a good shout for a penalty after 20 minutes before the chances started to flow.

First, Gyasi was again left head in hands when he failed to turn in Dion Sembie-Ferris’s almost inch-perfect cross into the box from close range after half an hour.

Just two minutes later, Will Van Leir couldn’t believe when his effort after he had chested down a high ball struck the side-netting rather than the back of the net. A large part of the ground thought the ball had gone in.

A curling Sembie-Ferris effort from the left of the box forced visiting keeper Paul White into another sharp save before the end of the half.

The game became more stretched in the second half with the visitors carrying more of a threat but it was Sports who again who came the closest to breaking the deadlock after 56 minutes when Sembie-Ferris cut in from the left, saw two shots blocked before Van Lier could only steer the rebound wide of the target.

With Sports starting to reassert themselves again, Gyasi lost his head when he was adjudged to have committed a handball as he took down a long ball on halfway, looking to start a quick counter, his petulant act of kicking the ball away saw him awarded a second yellow card.

To the credit of Sports, they continued to press for a winner and had the better of the game for large spells despite their numerical disadvantage.

Despite spells of pressure from both sides, neither could point to point to one big chance to steal the tie before the match ticked into extra time.

With Sports understandably tiring in extra time, the game took a surprising turn back towards their favour when the numbers were evened up.

Lively winger Terrell Pennant was shown two yellow cards in quick succession for a couple of late tackles.

Both sides tried their luck from range in the final half of extra time and were not far away but neither came closer than Sembie-Ferris, who latched onto Michael Gash’s header, wrestled off his marker but could not beat White who stood up well to make the save.

A flurry of late Sports corners still couldn’t break the Rushall resistance before penalty kicks.

It was a set of 10 almost perfect penalties, which neither keeper could get close to, with the only exception being the fifth kick for Sports when White flung himself to the right to deny Jarvis, and when McLeod, sent Crook the wrong way, and continue Sports’ wait for an appearance in the FA Cup first found proper.

Sports: Peter Crook, MJ Kamson-Kamara, Eliot Putman, Ashton Fox (sub Ryan Fryatt 94 mins), Michael Gash, Dan Lawlor, Oisin Gallagher, Will Van Lier (sub Kaine Felix 81 mins), Dan Jarvis, Dion Sembie-Ferris, Michael Gyasi

Not used: Lewis Elsom, Luke Steele, Matt Tootle, Hugh Alban-Jones, Jack Goodman