The Wembley dream is over for New Mills, after two goals in three second half minutes from Sonny Andrews saw Northern League side Norton & Stockton Ancients progress into the last eight of the FA Carlsberg Vase at the Millers' expense.
On a glorious afternoon in the High Peak, the Millers enjoyed the better of the first half and had a number of good opportunities, but as the game wore on the visitors grew in confidence, and deadly finishing from leading scorer Andrews saw them through to victory.
The opening quarter of the game saw most of the action around the visitors' goal, with New Mills beginning well.
On 8 minutes a good through ball sent Bobby Lloyd into the box, but his cutback was well smothered by Norton keeper James Briggs as Tommy Turner waited to pounce.
Three minutes Turner had the ball in the net only to be ruled offside, and then a mazy run by Lloyd ended with his shot being well saved by the keeper.
In the 16th minute, the Millers had their best chance of half, when a great run by Carlos Meakin was halted by a strong tackle on the edge of the box, and when the ball broke to Adam Mather he sliced his shot wide of the target with time and space to pick his spot.
Kharas, Meakin, Mather and Lloyd all had further chances for the Millers as the half wore on, but visiting dangerman Sonny Andrews gave an early signal of problems to come when he fired in a great shot from the edge of the box that Millers' keeper Dominic Ingram-Hughes did well to beat out with his fists.
Four minutes from the break, the Millers had another good chance when a great ball down the left from full back Mark Innes set Adam Mather free, and from his cross into the box Gary Kharas was denied by a great block from Norton keeper Briggs.
The final action of the first half saw a Carlos Meakin free kick deflected over for a corner, and it was to prove to be the last contribution the Millers captain made to the proceedings.
In the opening moments of the second half, Meakin was on the wrong end of strong challenge which ended his involvement in the game, and he was subsequently taken to hospital by ambulance with a nasty foot injury.
Steve Hall came on to replace Meakin, and eyebrows were raised among the home support on 58 minutes when manager Tony Hancock made another change, this time replacing striker Tommy Turner with recent signing Gary Burke.
As the half wore on, neither side produced much in the way of clear cut chances, although Norton began to enjoy more possession, and it became increasingly obvious that the first goal would be crucial.
With 13 minutes remaining, it was Norton who made the breakthrough courtesy of leading scorer Sonny Andrews, who picked up the ball on the edge of the box and smashed an unstoppable shot into the top right hand corner of the net.
It was a crushing blow for the Millers, and it got worse when Andrews repeated the dose three minutes later, this time curling what looked initially like a cross from the left wing over the outstretched hand of Dominic Ingram-Hughes into the far top corner.
A late flurry from New Mills produced one final chance when Danny Jackson knocked the ball down into the path of Gary Burke, who saw his shot well saved by Norton keeper, but moments later the final whistle blew to bring down the curtain on the New Mills FA Vase campaign for this season.
The result means that the Vodkat League is without a representative in the quarter finals for only the second time since 1999. The only previous occasion during that period was in 2004-05 when Colne got the furthest of any of our teams, going out of the competition at the Fifth Round stage when they lost at home to Didcot Town.
Teams:
New Mills:
Dominic Ingram Hughes, Michael Bowler, Mark Innes, Danny Jackson, Peter Band, Steve Pickford, Carlos Meakin (Steve Brackenridge), Bobby Lloyd, Garry Kharas, Tommy Turner (Steven Hall), Adam Mather (Nathan Wharton). Unused Subs: Chris Fidler, Gary Burke.
Norton & Stockton Ancients:
James Briggs, David Alderson, Richard Gaston, Dale Mulligan, Alan Cossavella, Richard Storr, Sonny Andrews, David Hillerby, Michael Dunwell, Jamie Clarke, David Wells.
Subs: Steven Larkin, Steven Newham, Michael Emmerson, Marcus Laing, Brian Healy
Goals: Sonny Andrews 77 & 80 minutes
Referee: Mr R. P. Newman (Barnsley)
Attendance: 403
