Haringey Borough 2 Heybridge Swifts 4
Heybridge Swifts, roared on by more than 100 of their own supporters, booked their place in the first round proper of the FA Cup with a deserved victory over Bostik North rivals Haringey Borough in yesterday’s fourth qualifying round showdown.
Striker Luke Callander was the inspiration, bagging two goals and setting up another during an eight-minute spell midway through the second half, to see the Swifts to a famous win in front of a 400-plus record crowd at Coles Park in North London.
Now manager Jody Brown has the tough, but pleasant task, of keeping his Swifts’ players focused on the league – the Essex club have won five of their first six league games of the season.
The Cup will certainly be a happy distraction. The first round will be televised on BBC2 tomorrow evening (from 7pm) with such big names as Portsmouth, Charlton and Blackburn all in the hat.
“It was a wonderful occasion. We started really brightly and deserved to go 1-0 up,” explained boss Brown.
“We had been working on the counter-attack in training all week, because we knew that Haringey, with their 3-5-2 system, would play with their wing-backs high up the pitch.
“We had to weather the storm in the final 20 minutes of the first half, and the first 20 minutes of the half. Then all our goals were very similar, with us hitting them on the counter-attack after play had broken down in our third of the pitch. In the end, it was a great day for the players, and the fans. It’s a massive result for the club.
“It was packed to the rafters, and our own fans made it feel like a home game, better than a home game in fact.
“Now we’d obviously like an away game at one of the big guns, or a big club at our place to get a record attendance,” added Brown.
The Swifts took the lead in the 14th minute, home defender Lawrence Yiga diverting Lewis Godbold’s cross into his own net.
Haringey, hoping to reach the first round for the first time in their history, equalised in the 57th minute through Ralstan Gabriel, but the Swifts then took control.
Sam Bantick restored the Swifts’ lead in the 65th minute, slotting home from Callander’s excellent break, and Callander was then brought down for a penalty, which he converted himself on 69 minutes.
Callander added his second and the Swifts’ fourth from Josh Fagbohun’s 73rd minute cross, Ruaridh Kay netting a late consolation for the hosts.
HEYBRIDGE: Sambridge, Ramon, Sampayo, Dark, Henshaw, Cawley, Godbold, Griffiths, Callander (sub Conway, 76), Bantick (sub Fagbohun, 68), Luque (sub Andrews, 87).
Attendance: 401
Haringey Borough 2 Heybridge Swifts 4
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