Redbridge’s run of bad fortune in the FA Cup continues after a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Waltham Forest, which means we haven’t won an FA Cup game now since December 2011. It wasn’t for lack of trying and if anything the Waltham Forest keeper had quite a busy afternoon but the damage was done in the first half which saw the visitors score 4 times.

The opening 10 minutes were very cagey with Redbridge having possibly the better chances as a Vinny Murphy free kick needed to be tipped away by Harrison Seetah. The Waltham Forest keeper also had to back pedal and pull off an acrobatic save to keep out an Adam Hunt shot that looked to be dipping into the net.

However Waltham Forest took the lead on 18 minutes when the Redbridge defence failed to clear the ball out of the danger zone and it fell to Prince Madu who drilled home from close range. It didn’t take long for the visitors to add a second as within two minutes Gareth Madden was latching onto a through ball and slotted it past Mark Parker.

Redbridge could have got themselves back into it had AJ Adeleken’s header only been an inch lower, while another Murphy free kick was tipped away by Seetah. But the task became even harder on 34 minutes when Waltham Forest made it 3-0 via a Faisal Hemati strike and then became almost a lost cause when it became made it 4-0 just before the break; a fine passing move finished off by Ahmed Mohammed riffling past Parker.

Redbridge started the second period brightly and had the first chance of the half when a Hunt free kick narrowly missed the target. Adeleken and Murphy then made Seetah pull off two fine saves to deny the Motermen. Seetah was then aided by his post after a Hunt shot eluded him but rebounded off the post. In fact other than a brief moment when a long ball played in Brian Moses, requiring Parker to rush out of his box to clear the danger, the Redbridge goal was relatively quiet, while Seetah and his defence had to withstand a Redbridge bombardment. Seetah pulled off a number of fine saves to deny the Motormen.

Report by Scott Lanza
It was a sense of justice when Redbridge were able to pull one back via Lee Weemes on 87 minutes. However Waltham Forest then closed the show with Madden scoring his second, pouncing on a loose ball in the box and lashing it past the Redbridge keeper.