HALSTEAD fell badly from grace and were dumped out of the FA Vase. They held a 2-0 lead after 28 minutes before defensive blunders allowed the visitors to establish a 3-2 lead.
Then the normally sure Chris Bryan fired a penalty at 48-year-old manager and stand-in keeper Mike Hearn with three minutes to go with extra time looming. Inevitably the home side were caught out on all out attack and Raunds broke away to settle it w
ith a fourth.
To compound their problems, manager Jody Brown was banished to the stand after comments to the referee.
There was a sign of things to come after just seven minutes when keeper Paul Wood palmed a cross out straight to Cavell Jarvis, who blazed over an empty goal. Minutes later Woods erred again and this time Rick Chambers' effort was headed over the bar by Ray Turner.
On 20 minutes Halstead at last got their act together with a superb opener when full back Danny Rowell took a Bryan free kick and hammered the ball home from an acute angle.
Minutes later Gavin Fitzgerald headed off the line from Craig Newman, but the latter would not be denied and he curled home a delightful second. Bryan looked to have headed home a third, but Martin Mitchell got back to clear off the line.
Raunds replied soon after when a loose ball was picked up by Dan Spraughten and he hit the target from 25 yards.
Early in the second half the visitors got back on terms when Wood again fumbled and Josh Davis duly took the opportunity to crash home. Halstead wasted an opening, Ray Turner firing over after rounding the keeper.
The exchanges warmed up and several free kicks followed before Raunds took the lead when Halstead failed to clear a Jarvis shot that hit the post, and Ross Atkins fired the visitors ahead.
Halstead worked hard but ran out of ideas in the final third. But with just three minutes left they were given a lifeline when Bryan was brought down in the box by Fitzgerald. But the usually so safe from the spot Bryan hit keeper Hearn in the chest and the ball was cleared.
During a bad-tempered finale manager Brown was forced to leave the action, and with Halstead throwing everyone forward they were caught out by a breakaway goal by defender Jamie Russell.
Halstead Town: Wood; Emerson, Rowell, Falla (Morley 58 (Barefield 88]), Devaux, Joslin, Pollard, Daly, Bryan, Turner, Newman. Subs (not used): Rayner, Crumpen.
The full article contains 429 words and appears in Suffolk Free Press newspaper.
