Morpeth Town eased into the second round of the Integro Cup after hammering Marske United 5-2 at Craik Park.
Liam Henderson and Sean Taylor had us two to the good within 14 minutes before Jack Foalle made it 3-0 on 29 minutes. Craig Gott reduced the arrears five minutes after the interval but Taylor doubled his tally for the night in the 61st minute. Foalle duly did the same three minutes as Town ran riot. Gott also grabbed a double as the night’s goals tally ended at seven.
The game was preceded by a minute of silence in memory of Rev Ted Walton, a long-time supporter who passed away at the age of 93.
On the pitch, both teams were just delighted to get the fixture played after a series of postponements due to a waterlogged pitch and floodlight failure meant we had lost count at the amount of times the game had been scheduled.
Morpeth started brightly and scored within 16 seconds of the kick-off through Henderson’s sweetly struck effort. Taking sight of goal from 30 yards out, the striker lashed a shot into the back of the net to get the night off with a bang.
As a vibrant hosting side strode forward with purpose, they found a second goal, just as expertly taken, from Taylor in the 14th minute. The midfielder, latching on to a lofted through ball from Michael Turner, floated an effort over the keeper and into the back of the net.
In an entertaining start at Craik Park, Marske threatened to hit back within seconds of the restart, but Craig Gott’s dipping volley landed on the roof of the net.
Town, though, were well on top by this point and added a third through Foalle. The striker sprinted through to gather a Liam Noble through ball just before the half-hour mark and duly smashed the ball into the back of the net to extend the home side’s advantage.
Morpeth were in complete control by this point, but didn’t threaten until the 37th minute when Taylor cut in from the left flank before hitting a low drive into the grasp of Matthew Wilkinson.
Marske – a familiar foe from our Northern League days – were far from finished in this one and reduced the deficit five minutes into the second half through Gott. The midfielder picked up on a neat through ball to slot past Jack Wilson in the Town goal and give his side hope.
Moments later and they could have got within striking distance of the Highwaymen but for the crossbar denying Lewis Maloney what would have been a special goal.
That brief response was tamed by the hosts as they scored another on a goal-laden evening, with Taylor smashing home a loose ball in the area before Foalle doubled his own tally with a composed finish when hassling a defender to reclaim possession on the edge of the box.
The goals weren’t done there, with Gott also claiming a second for his side as Marske battled gamely until the final whistle. Town will now face Pickering Town in the next round, at Craik Park, on Tuesday, January 14th (7.45pm).
Town are next in action when they travel to Buxton for an NPL Premier Division clash on Saturday.
MORPETH TOWN: Wilson, Williams (Forster 64), Reid, Noble, Hodgson (c), Turner, Taylor, Turnbull (Sayer 64), Foalle, Henderson (Walton 70), Mohammed.
SUBS NOT USED: Robson.
GOALS: Liam Henderson (1), Sean Taylor (14, 61), Jack Foalle (29, 64)
MARSKE UNITED: Wilkinson, Garbutt, O’Sullivan, Scott, May, Wheatley (c), Maloney, Gott, Waters, Blackford (Clark 87), Round.
SUBS NOT USED: Johnson, Burgess, Stephenson, Norton.
GOALS: Craig Gott (50, 74)
ATT: 175
MAN OF THE MATCH: Jack Foalle
