Yorkshire Amateur’s nightmare second-half, involving a red card and conceding four, saw Wakefield AFC progress through the County Cup first round, The Ammers beaten 4-2 at The Millennium Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Louis Fialdini’s sixth of the season first stirred the scoring in the Ammers’ favour before Benjamin Quartey’s first Ammers goal gave the visitors a dream start, leading 2-0 into half-time.
Gervas Chipasha was deemed the last man when fouling his opposing Wakefield forward, received a red card which proved to disrupt The Ammers’ performance.
Daniel Hernandez’s brace levelled the game before Billy Mole and Owen Kirman progressed the hosts.
Harold Edjangue returned in the Ammers goal alongside fellow returnees Kenneth Effah, Gervas Chipasha, Sam Pickles and Benjamin Quartey.
Wakefield caught Ammers sleeping within the opening minutes, Jaden Sandhu hitting the post from a rebound after Edjangue parried Billy Mole’s shot across goal from the left.
Morgan Butcher was alive to the follow-up on the edge of the box but skied the shot.
Reggie Waud matched that effort and raised it, arrowing a free-kick against the bar from 30-yards out, inside ten minutes.
Keanan Mannings’ header to follow up, was beaten by the bounce, 6-yards in, the midfielder too far under the ball and lobbing the ‘keeper but also the bar.
Spencer was asleep to Butcher’s pressure following a direct ball in-behind, from the Wakefield half, allowing the hosts’ winger to cut inside from the right. His lay off to the edge of the box resulted in a shot straight into Edjangue’s arms.
Wakefield were comfortable in possession but couldn’t disturb the Ammers’ organisation, quietening the game down for the next ten minutes.
Sandhu attempted to liven the game back up by shooting from the edge of the Ammers box but Chipasha was alive to the danger, pressing from beyond his defensive line to block.
Another Ammers set-piece, this time a corner from the right, saw Jai Curran-Nicholls positioned well for the dropping ball, only to shoot high over the bar.
Fialdini had space to shoot from 20-yards, central, benefitting from Ammers’ retention of possession, wide left, deep into Wakefield’s half.
He was to add to this season’s goal tally just minutes later, his sixth of the campaign came from the forward’s own work, knocking the ball beyond the Wakefield defence and shooting across goal in the 36th-minute.
Again Ammers won the ball back high, Fialdini receiving the ball on the edge of the box before rounding his marker and shooting across goal, past the ‘keeper’s left.
Morton looked to add a second, entering the final five minutes from a ball over the hosts’ defence, winning the race but eventually being caught up.
Benjamin Quartey showed him how it was done, an exact replica of Morton’s earlier chance but able to round the ‘keeper to finish.
The right-winger raced onto a direct ball from midfield, past Josh Craig at full-back, giving himself enough space between the defender and himself to then round the ‘keeper by cutting inside, finishing left-footed into the empty net, entering the break two up.
Edjangue had to be awake early in the second half narrowly beat his opposing forward to a through ball clipped behind the Ammers’ defence but the ‘keeper sliced his kick high into the air.
Chipasha used his body to shield the dropping ball, winning a foul to calm the danger.
The defender’s red card minutes later meant his last action was giving Wakefield a free-kick just outside the box.
The position, left of centre, fancied and received a right footer, hit over the wall but straight at Edjangue.
Sam Pickles ignored the man disadvantage and continued the Ammers attack, his quick-feet beating two down the left of the Wakefield box before shooting across, Fialdini unable to reach the rebound.
Wakefield mirrored the move through Jordan Chippendale’s cross forcing Edjangue to parry away, before the follow up cross from the opposite side, headed to goal, looked to find an empty net but Edjangue’s flying save rescued the Ammers’ clean-sheet so far.
Chippendale’s second attack in as many minutes caused less of a problem, shooting over the bar from 20-yards out.
The man advantage eventually led to halving Ammers’ goal advantage, Daniel Hernanez beating Edjangue one-on-one on 59 minutes.
Hernandez ran onto Jock Curran’s high through-ball out of midfield, into the box before shooting across Edjangue who was closing in.
Edjangue’s error assisted Hernandez’s second and Wakefield’s equaliser on 63 minutes.
Hernandez’s shot from midway in the Ammers half looked to be straight at Edjangue whose footing appeared to let the ‘keeper down, the ball forcing it’s way under the stopper’s low save in the centre of goal.
The Wakefield man had a chance for his third just a minute later, running between the Ammers’ defence but dragging his shot across goal, wide.
Edjangue’s dive to his bottom right-hand corner was spot on the next time, denying a powerful shot from outside the box.
Sandhu began Wakefield’s possession moving from left to right, ending with Chippendale, now on the right, shooting against Spencer’s block in the box.
Ammers enjoyed a rare period of possession before Sandhu countered through the middle, his accurate pass over Quartey matched by Pilkington’s first-touch out on the left before his shot was blocked.
Billy Mole completed Ammers’ nightmare of a second-half by giving Wakefield the lead in the 80th-minute, the assist from Wakefield ‘keeper Kendrick.
The route-one style kick out of the ‘keeper’s box, beat Curran-Nicholls with the bounce, finding Mole instead, one-on-one inside the box, before burying his shot across goal.
Owen Kirman had to do it all himself and was inches way from doing so for the visitors, curling left-footed, wide of the far left-hand post from outside the area.
Kirman made it a comfortable finish for Wakefield, poking over Edjangue for Wakefield’s fourth.
The winger received a first-time through-ball out of midfield, between Kongolo and Spencer in the Ammers defence, before also shooting first-time by chipping Edjangue closing in, for the final time before the final whistle.
Yorkshire Amateur’s presence remains solely in the NCEL Premier division now, visiting Handsworth on Saturday.