Marine 3-2 Radcliffe; FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round; Saturday 19th September 2026
Adam Yates reports from the MTA…
Marine progressed into the next round of the FA Cup after a raucous 3-2 victory over NLN rivals Radcliffe which included two penalties and physicality throughout.
The first spot kick came in the 10th minute as Finlay Sinclair-Smith was clearly fouled near the corner of the area. Fin passed the responsibility to Conor McAleny who converted easily.
Moments later, a controversial corner to Radcliffe led to an immediate equaliser as Frankie McMahon-Brown latched onto the set piece as he headed down into the ground and past the defender on the goal line.
After the interval, the Mariners had their second penalty following a lengthy consultation with the linesman and possible peer pressure from the home fans.
Callum McFadzean was extremely lucky not to concede an own goal after a header back to his keeper required Callum Feeney to produce a fingertip save onto his post
Charlie Jolley was introduced into the game (in a similar fashion to the game prior) and found Marine’s third. Charlie found space on the edge of the box, decided against an immediate shot and curled it effortlessly past Feeney to give the hosts breathing room.
Radcliffe nearly produced an unlikely comeback when Charlie Raglan headed into the net from close range from an impressive cross but ultimately Marine timed out the game effectively by maintaining ball control in the corner and will be in the bag for Monday’s draw.
Marine (4-4-2): McIntyre, Abankwah, Drysdale, Wardle, Doyle, Whelan, McDonald (Hilton 84′), Darby, Sinclair Smith, McAleny (Jolley 66), Newell (Kattah 90′)
Subs not used: Barrett, Butler, Huby, Potter.
Radcliffe (4-4-2) Feeney; McFadzean, Maynard, Jackson (Afuye 64), Seary; Hawley (Hulme 73), James (Carroll 64), Raglan, Pritchard (Oyibo 73), Brown, McAllister
Subs not used – Valentine, Smith, Davies
Referee: Jonathan Chadwick
Attendance: 711