Alvechurch boss Ian Long proud after claimin

Posted Sunday, November 06, 2022 by PA

Ian Long said he was full of pride after watching seventh-tier Alvechurch upset League One outfit Cheltenham with a 2-1 FA Cup first-round triumph.

Danny Waldron scored twice to put the Southern League Premier Division Central side 2-0 ahead at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium, where they were backed by more than 1,400 travelling fans.

“I am so proud of the players, every one of them,” Alvechurch boss Long said. “They put their bodies on the line and defended so well at times. We caused them problems, with Jack Concannon on the half turn, especially in the first half.

“It’s a proud and historic day for the club, from players and staff to the chairman (Richard Thorndike) and the supporters.

“A big thank you to the supporters. We are not a well-supported club, but to bring 1,400-1,500 supporters down is massive credit to them.

“The fans were the 12th man and we needed them behind us, especially in the latter stages, when we were hanging on.

“If we can keep a couple of hundred of them coming back regularly adding to our gates, there is no reason why Alvechurch can’t be a leading non-league team.”

Caleb Taylor was caught in possession in the 19th minute and Waldron raced through and showed composure to beat Luke Southwood.

Only a fine stop from Daniel Jezeph denied James Olayinka a leveller in the 42nd minute, but the lowest-ranked team left in the competition deserved their half-time advantage.

They extended it four minutes into the second half as Waldron forced the ball over the line with Cheltenham all over the place.

The Robins pulled one back in the 54th minute when Ryan Broom’s cross from the left was volleyed in by Ryan Jackson.

Cheltenham were inches away from equalising in the 69th minute when Christian Norton’s effort was scooped off the line by Jezeph.

Waldron hit the post in the final seconds, but the non-leaguers were able to celebrate a famous victory.

Cheltenham head coach Wade Elliott admitted it was tough being on the receiving end of a cup upset as his side bowed out at the first hurdle.

“Firstly, I have to congratulate Alvechurch,” Elliott said. “With any upset, you need certain things to go your way, but credit to them, they had quality to capitalise on it and we didn’t.

“The gap in the levels becomes smaller and smaller when they take their chances and we don’t take ours and it’s not nice being on the wrong end of an upset, but we are going to have to suffer it and suck it up.

“They played well and I wouldn’t say we played poorly as we had more than enough chances to put the game to bed, but we haven’t taken them.

“We have made some errors, which has given them a sniff and they’ve been able to take it and then it becomes a very difficult game.

“We can and we need to do better and nobody is shying away from that.”