Exeter City crash out of FA Cup

Match report: Warrington 1 Exeter City 0

Exeter City finished on the wrong side of a famous FA Cup upset as Warrington Town earned a place in the second round of the FA Cup at Cantilever Park with a 1-0 win.

It was a header from a corner by Craig Robinson that was inadvertently turned in by Graham Cummins which was the difference on the scoreboard at the final whistle, and gave the Evo-Stik NPL Division One North team a place in the hat.

Liam Sercombe and David Noble came in for Jimmy Keohane and Arron Davies in the two changes Paul Tisdale made to the line-up which started the 1-1 St James Park draw with Luton Town the previous weekend. The Grecians arrived looking to avoid a repeat of their 2008 cup exit to Curzon Ashton, a side who were in the same division as Warrington.

The home side, who had never reached the first round of the competition before in their 65-year history and were already in their eighth FA Cup match of the season, enjoyed the first chance of the game three minutes in, as left-winger Scott Metcalfe found the side-netting. Christy Pym made a perfectly-timed collection to deny Metcalfe an effort a minute later.

But Cantilever Park was sent into raptures after six minutes, as the home side took the lead. Captain Dave Mannix delivered a left-sided corner which Craig Robinson, brother of MK Dons manager Karl, headed at the near post to hand the hosts the advantage.

Striker Ben Wharton had to deal with the attention of Matt Oakley when he fired wide after 14 minutes, before Scot Bennett worked some space for himself to shoot off-target a minute later. Warrington goalkeeper Karl Wills was sharp off his line to deny Graham Cummins a one-on-one opportunity soon after.

Right-back Lewis Field forced a corner after 19 minutes, which came to nothing, but Warrington’s influence over the game continued toward the half-hour mark. Wharton headed one wide before Cummins wasn’t far off reaching a dangerous-looking Craig Woodman cross.

A free-kick won by Matt Grimes after a foul from goalscorer Robinson was drilled against the wall by the England Under-20 international, a few minutes before Liam Sercombe carved out City’s best chance of the game so far, beating left-back Matt Doughty before squaring for David Noble, who saw his effort smack the bar with goalkeeper Wills beaten.

The combined efforts of Grimes and Bennett almost created another opportunity, but Robinson was well-positioned to deal with the danger, and Robinson, who had previously played alongside the likes of Rickie Lambert and Neil Mellor in the Liverpool youth ranks, made a top defensive intervention again moments later when he blocked David Wheeler’s strike at point-blank range.

The final chance of the half fell to Grecians captain Bennett, whose shot was snuffed out before it could become a problem to Wills in the Warrington goal.

Half-time: Warrington Town 1 Exeter City 0