Gloucester City manager Daf Williams expressed pride in his players despite their narrow penalty shoot-out defeat to National League North side Marine in the Isuzu FA Trophy on Saturday.
The match opened with Marine applying strong early pressure, challenging Gloucester’s defense from the outset. However, the Southern Premier League side held firm, and it was Gloucester who broke the deadlock in the 27th minute. A well-executed set-piece saw Sion Spence, Gloucester’s number 10, expertly finish to give the visitors the lead.
After a goalless first half, Marine intensified their efforts after the break. Their persistence paid off in the 59th minute when James Potter struck an excellent first-time shot to equalize. The momentum shifted further against Gloucester when Ben Morgan was shown a red card for a late challenge just three minutes later, leaving the Tigers to defend with ten men for over half an hour.
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Despite being a man down, Gloucester displayed remarkable resilience, pushing the match to penalties for the fourth time in their cup campaign this season. Leigh Whelan opened the shootout scoring for Marine, with Joe Hanks responding confidently for Gloucester. The back-and-forth continued with successful penalties from Mathew McDonald and Spence, and then Bailey Marsden for Marine, although Ed Williams missed his spot-kick for Gloucester, giving Marine a slight advantage.
Jared Thompson, Gloucester’s goalkeeper, kept his team’s hopes alive by saving James Brown’s penalty. Harry Emmett scored the next spot-kick to level the shootout again, forcing sudden death. Finlay Sinclair-Smith calmed the home crowd with a composed finish for Marine, but Marcus Day’s subsequent miss for Gloucester ended their hopes and sent Marine through to the next round.
Reflecting on the game, Williams praised his squad’s determination: “I thought the lads were magnificent. It’s disappointing to go out, especially as I felt we deserved more with how we played, both with 11 men and then with 10. Now, we need to realign our focus on the league. If we can replicate the character we showed today, the coming months should be very exciting.”
Williams added, “The game unfolded as we expected. Marine are a strong side performing well in the north, and they are tough opponents. Our players dealt with that well and had chances to make it 2-0 before they equalized. Emmett and Spence both had great opportunities. After the red card, it was tough, but the lads showed great spirit and battled hard.”
Marine’s lineup included Barnsley, Brown, Anson, Wardle, Samuels-Smith, Whelan, Marsden, Fielding (McDonald 76), Sinclair-Smith, Thomas (Bell 61), and Potter.
Gloucester City named Thompson, Jones (Wildig 76), Morgan, O’Regan, Williams, Phillips (Baidoo 72), Spence, Hanks, Richards-Everton, Day, and Emmett.