Addison satisfied despite Rovers' wayward finishing

Forest Green Rovers 0 Exeter City

Forest Green Rovers, the self-styled "Friendly Club on the Hill'', finished neither up nor down yesterday after a characteristically hectic FA Cup first round tie in their compact ground high above the picturesque Nailsworth Valley.

In the end, none of the fond hopes raised by this match between Nationwide Conference and Third Division strugglers was quite realised. The BBC, in live attendance, did not get their giant killing act. And Forest Green did not get to see the honourary director recently appointed by Exeter's co-chairman Uri Geller.

"We are all hoping the one and only Michael Jackson will be in attendance and give us all a turn at half-time,'' the match programme maintained. Perhaps the ravaged singer could not face that long walk up the hill.

Geller, at least, was in attendance, having vowed not to influence the result of this tie with his physic powers. No bent referee here, then. Which must have come as a great relief to the home side.

Geller was clearly true to his word as a haphazard match saw both teams earn a replay at St James' Park on Tuesday week with the prospect of a home tie against Kidderminster or Rushden & Diamonds for the winners.

Forest Green, who only emerged into the Nationwide Conference five years ago, went into this game with a fair amount of FA Cup history already attached to them. Their replay defeat here by Macclesfield at the same stage last season now features in the Guinness Book of Records as the FA Cup tie which has contained the most penalties – one in each game before the shoot-out which the football leaguers won 11-10.

Rovers also had the estimable talent of manager Colin Addison, who as player-manager of Hereford United engineered one of the most famous FA Cup shocks of all time in 1972 at Newcastle United's expense.

Addison was upbeat afterwards. "It was a very, very good performance by us,'' he said. "On another day it might have been two-all or three-all. There was a lot of effort, a lot of enthusiasm.

"It's the FA Cup, isn't it? This is a village club – I say that respectfully – and I'm absolutely delighted for them because the last line is, we are still in the draw.''

Had the home side been more able to capitalise on the energetic promptings of their left-sided midfielder Alex Sykes before the break, they might have been in the draw on their own. But their forwards Alex Meechan and Kayode Odejayi were unable, in Addison's phrase, to find the cutting edge.

Happily for the bulk of the 2,147 crowd, a Forest Green defence including Jon Richardson – one of two former Exeter players now with Rovers along with Matthew Russell, the Exeter co-chairman's son – was just about equal to a Third Division challenge which grew stronger as the match progressed. Addison's 68th minute gamble of bringing on a third forward in Neil Grayson did not come off.

Rovers' ultimate frustration was doubtless soothed by the £100,000 they received in television money and the additional income they will earn from the replay. Carved into their village fountain is a saying from Proverbs: "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches".

Right now, however, Rovers have both.

Forest Green (4-4-2): Perrin; Coupe, Jones, Richardson, L Russell; M Russell (Grayson, 68), Owers (Allen, 88), Foster, Sykes; Meechan, Odejayi. Substitutes not used: McLoughlin, Futcher, Glass (GK).

Exeter City (4-4-2): Miller; Hiley, Pilkington, Gaia, Roscoe; McConnell (Walker, halftime), Cronin, Thomas, Pettefer; Moor, Flack. Substitutes not used: Curran, Fraser (GK), Sheldon, McCarthy.

Referee: P Joslin (Newark).

Bookings: Forest Green: Jones.

Man of the match: Jones (Forest Green).

Attendance: 2,147