The Green Army returned to a ground we last visited a few seasons ago for a cup tie, a night remembered for some questionable officiating that arguably cost FCP the victory. The travelling fans were hoping history would not repeat itself!

Around 20 supporters made the hour long journey on a cool Tuesday evening. After Saturday’s impressive FA Vase win over Ipswich Wanderers, expectations were high.

FCP started brightly, producing some excellent link up play and controlling possession, but without seriously testing the home goalkeeper.

Then, against the run of play, Sileby took the lead. A mistake at the back allowed their forward through on goal, and he made no mistake with the finish. It was certainly not the start we wanted.

Aziz had FCP’s best opportunity of the first half, forcing the goalkeeper into a good save. The officials were also beginning to frustrate the travelling support, with the assistant referee struggling to keep pace with play and not raising his flag for several questionable offsides.

FCP went into the break 1–0 behind, despite having played the better football.

The half-time hospitality was far more enjoyable than the scoreline. Sileby looked after the travelling Green Army brilliantly, with the cakes and biscuits going down particularly well. A lovely setup and a warm welcome from our hosts.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with FCP enjoying most of the possession and creating the better chances.

Aziz made a superb run down the wing before setting up Dom, whose effort was saved by the goalkeeper. It was another opportunity FCP will feel they should have taken.

Vito then produced an excellent free-kick, only to be denied by a brilliant save. Minutes later, he went even closer when another effort struck the crossbar. It was becoming one way traffic, but the equaliser simply would not come.

The evening then took another controversial turn when Dom was shown two yellow cards for the same incident and sent off. The referee appeared to have completely lost control of the situation, leaving the FCP players and travelling supporters baffled.

Despite going down to ten men, FCP continued to push forward. Jack came off the bench, looked lively and played some excellent football. He also had an opportunity to equalise, but once again the Sileby goalkeeper was there to make the save.

Credit where it is due, the home keeper was immense throughout and played a huge part in preserving his side’s clean sheet.

FCP created enough chances to take something from the game but simply were not clinical enough. It was a frustrating and disappointing defeat, especially after controlling so much of the match.

Attention now turns to Saturday’s home game against bottom of the table Highgate United. After drawing a blank at Sileby, the Green Army will be expecting plenty of goals from the team in green!