Vickerstown march on in Lancashire Cup

A THREE-GOAL 15-minute opening burst fired Vickerstown into the fourth round of the Lancashire FA Cup.

A Tommy Dawson brace and one from Max Green handed the home side an unassailable lead over Bispham at Park Vale.

Dawson completed his hat-trick after the break and Ben Martin put the icing on the cake of a high-quality performance from the Barrow and District Junior Football League side.

The home team were on the front foot from the start on an excellent pitch, with the Bispham defence having to work hard as a unit, and catching both Dawson and Joe Hodgson offside early on.

The deadlock was broken on five minutes as a good cross was headed back into the danger area by Hodgson, and Green pounced to score.

Vickerstown kept up the pressure, with the midfield working hard to dispossess their counterparts.

The visitors tried a long ball, which was cut out by the attentive Ben Spencer. He carried the ball forward and played a precise pass through to the ever-ready Dawson, who showed strength to put Vickerstown 2-0 up.

Bispham had a rare chance excellently cleared by a Litherland header at the far post after a goal mouth scramble, but the main threat was at the other end.

Green was still proving a handful and a good run and shot produced a decent save from the Bispham goalkeeper, but Dawson was first to react and the home side were 3-0 up after 15 minutes.

The visitors made their first substitutions and were immediately more of a threat, but Logan Gosling, deputising in goal for the unavailable Jay Barker, pulled off an excellent save from a shot resulting from a corner.

The Vickerstown defence was under more pressure, but Harrison Turner and Ben Spencer were in control in the middle, while Jamie Beddoes and Litherland worked hard in the full-back positions.

Kodi Hammond and Will Maguire pushed in midfield and, with Brodie Luxon always alert, Vickerstown again started to dominate.

Dawson had the ball in the net again with a good header from a Will Maguire corner, but the ball was adjudged to have gone out of play.

Izaak Ferreira replaced Green on the half-hour and his speed kept up the pressure down the right. With Hodgson doing the same down the left, Vickerstown were able to stretch the visitors and maintain their lead until half-time.

Changes at half-time saw Hodson make way for Callum Sharples and Green back on replacing the hard-working Luxon.

The team was shuffled, with Sharples dropping into the centre of defence and Ferreria to full-back, allowing Spencer and Litherland to move further forward.

After five minutes, Bispham sent over a cross from the left towards the near post. With defenders, forwards and the goalkeeper all going for it, the resulting confusion saw the ball go in the net, sparking renewed belief for the visitors.

Vickerstown responded well and when Litherland tracked back to win the ball, he set off a move through midfield from left to right on to Green, who crossed for Dawson to get his hat-trick.

Minutes later, Dawson returned the compliment, but Green’s shot was just wide.

Bispham made further substitutions and Ferreira's electric speed was needed to keep up with the fresh legs.

Vickerstown dug in for the last 25 minutes, with Martin and Aaron Townsend on for Ferreira and Spencer. With Bispham also making changes, the game maintained a good pace.

The hosts were always on top, forcing the Bispham goalkeeper to pull off an excellent save from the rejuvenated Green.

Brooke Dixon replaced Maguire and, with Vickerstown keeping up the pressure, good work by Litherland set up Martin to put the home side 5-1 up.

Luxon came back with 10 minutes to go for the hard-working Dawson, however Tommy was back on within minutes to replace Litherland, who was struggling after a heavy challenge.

The game was now end to end, with Bispham still trying hard and keeping the Vickerstown defence on their toes.

Both sides were awarded free-kicks in attacking positions, Bispham squandered theirs but Vickerstown came close twice, Green heading Turner’s kick just over and Dawson doing the same from Maguire, who had replaced Hammond with only a couple of minutes remaining.

Darren Gardner brought a hard-fought cup tie to an end, with the 5-1 scoreline not a true reflection of the effort Bispham put in.

It was a well-deserved victory for Vickerstown, who now have the fourth round to look forward to.

Vickerstown would like to thank Nathan Green at Digital Aerial Satellites for his sponsorship of the team.