Dock were unlucky not to progress to the last 16 of the Sunday National Cup after a brilliant performance against top Liverpool side and previous winners, Nicosia FC. A superb Tim Bigland free kick on 9 minutes and a Gary Reay effort (44) gave Dock a a well deserved 2-0 half time lead. However, Dock were aware Nicosia had been 3-0 down at half time in the previous round and won that game 4-3, the game needed to be kept tight.
After making a couple of substitutions just after the re-start, Nicosia started to put the pressure on Dock, and, they were duly rewarded when they pulled a goal back on the 50th minute mark. Dock were then reduced to 10 men on 55 minutes when Shaun Holmes was red carded for swinging a punch at a Nicosia player. Nicosia levelled the tie in the 68th minute, but the ten men of Dock regained the lead on 73 minutes through a Darren Blythe effort. Nicosia again levelled in the last 10 minutes to send the tie into extra time.
With neither side being able to find the net the tie was looking like it was going to be settled by a penalty shootout, but, Nicosia had other ideas and late on in the second period of extra time they took the lead for the first time, leaving Dock with no time to level. Although the ten men of Dock lost the game late on, each and every one of them should be congratulated for giving a first-rate performance against one of the best teams in the north west.
