Knowle net 91st-minute equaliser to force FA Cup replay at Worcester City

Knowle showcased their never-say-die attitude to the nation as substitute Tom Kinsey bundled home a 91st-minute equaliser to force a replay with higher-tier Worcester City after a frenetic First Round Qualifying tie ended 1-1 at The Robins’ Nest.

It looked as though Knowle were heading out after Liam Lockett’s cheeky finish put Worcester ahead with 20 minutes to play under the BBC spotlight - but Kinsey forced the ball over the line to book a replay with the Step Three side at their Sixways Stadium on Tuesday, September 8.

There was a slight nervousness about Worcester early on and young goalkeeper Mamadou Diallo had a hairy moment 16 minutes in. The 18-year-old took too long to pick out a pass and Knowle midfielder George Seeley might have found the net had he not been contending with an extremely tight angle.

Worcester captain Charlie Wise required treatment on the pitch after a nasty cut to his left eye following a collision with Talib Copeland midway through the first half.

The home dugout were worried momentarily just before half-time. In-form attacker Copeland went down holding his knee without contact from a Worcester defender but was given licence to carry on.

Neither side saw much goalmouth action at all in the first half but the Robins acquitted themselves very well. It could be argued that the visitors had slightly more quality in possession but the two-tier gap between Knowle and Worcester wasn’t clear to see.

Worcester were frustrated by the bobbly pitch two minutes after the restart. Neat interchange between three attackers led to a shooting chance for Brandon Smalley, but a bobble on the pitch took the ball from his feet at the crucial moment.

Knowle went straight down the other end and Barnes spurned a golden chance. Copeland ran 40 yards up-field and put the ball on a plate for Barnes, but the imposing forward skewed his shot straight into Diallo’s grateful grasp.

Ethan Green had an even better opportunity in the 53rd minute. A deep corner found the defender with no-one around him at the back post but a combination of Diallo and Duncan Idehen denied Green on the goal-line.

It was one-way traffic at this point and Barnes blazed over the crossbar after a superb team move. Toby Scott squared for the striker 12 yards out but Barnes cleared the upright.

The game evened out after that and Lockett grabbed a goal for Worcester in the 70th minute. Luke Rowe found Josh Taroni down the left channel with a sumptuous outside-of-the-boot pass and he pulled back for Lockett to unleash a clever back-heel into the corner from close range.

Knowle huffed and puffed after the goal and strived to muster a piece of FA Cup magic for the 931 fans in attendance - a number more than double their previous record crowd.

And that's exactly what they did in the first minute of stoppage-time. Pinball in the penalty area saw the ball bounce off several heads on the goal-line before Kinsey got the final touch to spark pandemonium all over the ground. A classic FA Cup goal.

Kinsey had his sleeve torn during the celebrations and had to wear a spare shirt for the rest of the game - given to him by unused sub Lewis Clarke - and Knowle shut up shop to put their name in the hat for Monday’s draw.

It was nothing less than the hosts deserved on a day where they could have been a couple of goals up at the very least before Worcester took the lead against the run of play.

The Robins will celebrate this result - and rightly so - but attention will soon turn to Tuesday’s replay, which will kick off at 7:45pm.