The dream of the FA Cup was ended at Oak Park for the second successive season as Alport conceded an 85th minute goal to lose 2-1 at Walsall Wood despite a decent performance.
 
A slow start wasn’t what Alport and the 70 strong Red Army supporting had planned but when Tony Clarke was allowed too much space in the 18 yard box he made the most of it, squeezing a shot beyond Dave Parton in the Reds goal. Much like the previous Saturday at Padiham this team bounces back well and just three minutes later the scoreline was all level. Sean Griffiths was hacked down 30 yards from goal, up stepped Alex Hughes to strike a low driven ball beyond Lloyd Ransome to put the away side back in the tie.
 
It was very much the visitors now playing with fluidity and when a corner from Lee Pickerill bounced through the 6 yard box Hughes somehow could only steer the ball over when it looked destined for the Wood goal! Pickerill went close with a chance of his own but his attempt lacked power and was well gathered by Ransome. The home side threatened themselves and Parton pulled off a good save when the Wood left winger cut inside before unleashing a shot from 20 yards. A flowing move from right to left found Darren Campion who played into skipper Si Everall, a smart turn away from the defender on the edge of the box allowed the space to fire goalwards but the attempt was over hit and failed to trouble Ransome. The half continued with Alport playing some good football but they couldn’t make the most of the opportunities as both teams went in at half time with it all to play for in the second half. HT 1-1
 
Much like the opening ten minutes of the first half it was the Midlands side that started stronger as Alport lacked the fluency that had seen them end the first half strongly. Clarke and Joey Butlin were a handful for the defence for the whole of the second half as Wood attempted to re gain the lead. Parton made a stunning save to his right hand side from a long range effort midway through the half and the Alport number one was at hand to deal with a number of crosses into the 18 yard box also. As the second period went on Alport did settle back into the game but were wasteful unlike in the first half which meant clear opportunities were few and far between. It was a close fought encounter and now looked destined for a replay this was until a late mistake in the 85th minute. Alport cleared their lines where the Wood midfielder picked up the ball and tried to play a ball into the centre forward. The pass somehow squeezed through Ashman then Campion to land kindly to Richards unmarked who finished well into the bottom corner to send the home side into celebration. Wood managed the game well for the final few minutes to put themselves in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup for the first time in five years. A game that in truth could’ve gone either way and was well contested by both sides. FT 2-1
 
Manager Luke Goddard “The squad are obviously gutted in the dressing room, the effort and performance was good yet again but they haven’t gained a reward for that. It’s a mixture of a little mis-fortune and a lack of ruthlessness when we are on top to turn these games in our favour. However we remain upbeat, I see great things of this group developing and buying into what we have planned. We are very close to becoming the team we set out to build at this level for the first time and we continue on that track. The FA Cup is always an added extra, we`ve this year gone one step further than we did last season so again its progress and that’s what this football club has always strived for since we came in. Now we can look to attack September and catch up with some league games to earn the respect in the Premier Division, we are looking forward to that challenge and know it’s going to take even more hardwork but that’s what we are here for!”