Match Report:
Long Eaton United’s cup run came to an end last night as they were defeated 3-1 by Belper Town in the Derbyshire FA Senior Challenge Cup Quarter-Finals.
It was a freezing cold night at The Raygar Stadium and in an evenly contested first-half both sides failed to break the deadlock.
Jacob Gratton opened the scoring just after the hour mark for Belper Town, however The Blues equalised in the 72nd minute through Tristan Thompson-Matthews.
In an end-to-end second half it was Belper Town who capitalised and took their chances as they regained the lead in the 81st minute through Diego de Girolamo.
Diego Edwards added a third for The Nailers in additional time at the end of the second-half as Belper Town advanced into the semi-finals of the Derbyshire FA Senior Challenge Cup.
How the match unfolded:
Brad Munn’s side dominated much of the ball in the early stages of the cup encounter, however Long Eaton’s defence was called into action.
Kevin Bastos run through on goal in the 12th minute and just as he was about to shoot the ball at the goal, Jayden Cotterill made a last-ditch sliding challenge to deny the Belper Town midfielder of a good opportunity at goal.
Long Eaton United were forced into an early change in the 19th minute as Coden Duncan had to be replaced by Cieron Keane.
The Blues had their first real opportunity in a flurry of chances in the 26th minute. Owen Betts delivered a cross into the box from the right wing and James Shaw’s acrobatic effort was blocked crucially by a Belper Town defender and a corner was won. Following the corner, Evan Garnett and James Taylor had close range shots blocked by a desperate Belper Town defence.
The first-half played out with both sides creating half chances however the match remained goalless at half-time.
Munn made a double change at half-time as James Taylor and Connor Pace were replaced by eventual goal-scorer, Tristan Thompson-Matthews, and Dexter Walters.
Belper came closest however to taking the lead in the 61st minute as Elliot Hartmann had to clear a shot from off the line, despite this the home side were awarded a penalty a minute later.
Jacob Gratton stepped up to take the penalty kick and converted from the spot into the back of the net.
Munn then made Long Eaton’s final substitutions of the match following Gratton’s penalty. James Shaw and George Atwal made way for Jahvan Davidson-Miller and Jamie Hanson.
Having an impact since the minute he entered the pitch, Thompson-Matthews levelled the game in the 72nd minute.
The attacking midfielder linked up well with Evan Garnett as the centre forward dinked a ball over the top to Thompson-Matthews who ran confidently with the ball into the Belper Town box. One-on-one with Kieran Preston, Thompson-Matthews fired the ball past the Belper Town keeper with the shot finding the bottom right corner.
In a game that could have gone either way, it was Belper Town who ran away with it in the final ten minutes.
Diego de Girolamo finished into an empty net in the 81st minute as Belper Town took the lead with Diego Edwards heading a third in as the game entered additional time.
The Blues exit the Derbyshire FA Senior Challenge Cup as the focus now turns to the league for the remainder of the season, with a trip to Racing Club Warwick up next on Saturday.

Match Report: Sam Hargrave
Match Photos: Richard Gadsby