Evesham manager Neil Hunt believes his side got lucky in their 2-0 home victory over Carlton Town in the second qualifying round of the FA Trophy.
Ryan Paddock opened the scoring at the Spiers and Hartwell Jubilee Stadium with a bundling effort following a scramble in the box, before Jordan Lymn doubled United’s lead with a low shot from the edge of the area.
Carlton posed a solid challenge, creating a number of chances which made it hard for the hosts to play flowing football in the first half.
Hunt said: “I’m very disappointed. We played exceptionally well against Winchester last weekend; we were nowhere near that today. We started well, but at 1-0 I think our players took their foot off the gas a bit. No disrespect to Carlton, I think if they were here all day today, they wouldn’t have scored.”
Evesham goalkeeper Lewis Clayton deserves a lion’s share of the credit for pulling off several impressive saves to keep his team in the game.
“Our keeper made four or five great saves, but lady luck was on our side today,” added Hunt. “To be fair to Carlton, they just kept pushing and pushing but our keeper was unbeatable today.”
Mental Health: Impact of Covid-19 on grassroots players
Defender Matt Williams agreed that Evesham were lucky in victory, as they advanced to the third round FA Trophy qualifier.
Williams added: “They had a few chances. On another day, a couple of those chances go in and it’s a different game, but at the same time we score a couple of chances and see it out.
“I’m happy. We could have scored a few more goals to put it to bed, but overall I’m happy.”
The draw for the FA Trophy third qualifying round is set to be announced on Oct 19 at 1pm, with the tie to be played on Oct 31.
Check out our live blog for more sports updates:
Liveblog | Park Life Sport keeps you up to date with the latest Gloucestershire sports news
