Match Report: Ten Man Reds Feast on Cup Glory
Uxbridge 3-1 Hungerford Town | Emirates FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round
Saturday 3 October 2026 | Attendance: 502
Uxbridge booked their place in the fourth qualifying round of the Emirates FA Cup with an energetic 3–1 victory over Step 4 Hungerford Town at Honeycroft, digging deep to survive a dramatic second-half red card. This cup run marks the first time the Reds have reached the fourth qualifying round since the 1934/35 season—a staggering gap of 92 years. There was a return to the starting eleven for George Moore, who had been rested in the midweek win over Basingstoke, with Tuesday's player of the match, Luis Le Paih, also retaining his place.
The visitors saw plenty of the ball early on without ever testing the Uxbridge backline. However, Uxbridge soon hit their stride, and with an unbeaten home record stretching back to January, Hungerford knew they were in for a testing afternoon. The breakthrough arrived on 10 minutes following a cleverly worked short corner routine between Troy Perez-Duah and Luis Le Paih. The ball was clipped across to Ciaran Martin on the right flank, who brilliantly beat his man, carved out space, and curled a sublime shot into the far corner to make it 1–0.
Uxbridge continued to press home their advantage. On 13 minutes, George Moore and Troy Perez-Duah combined sharply before Moore let fly, though his well-struck effort was safely held by veteran Hungerford keeper Ryan Clarke. After a brief scare on 21 minutes when a slip in midfield allowed Hungerford to break and win a corner—with the home defence scrambling back to clear the ball—the Reds quickly reasserted control. On 24 minutes, Le Paih did outstanding work to hold up the ball under pressure and lay it off to Moore on the edge of the box. Moore kept his composure to place a low shot neatly into the corner, with Clarke left rooted to the spot to double the lead to 2–0.
Perez-Duah went close again on 27 minutes after the lively Le Paih pulled back a dangerous cross, but his shot on the turn was gathered by the keeper. Hungerford threatened briefly just after the half-hour mark when Sheldon Wright cut inside the box, but his low effort was safely claimed by goalkeeper Sam Morris.
The decisive third goal arrived in bizarre circumstances on 35 minutes. Perez-Duah drove forward into open space in midfield; his initial shot looked to be a comfortable save for Clarke, but the ball squirmed through his gloves, struck the back of his head, and rolled into the net to give Uxbridge a commanding lead. There was one moment of concern for Uxbridge right on the half-time whistle as Hungerford desperately tried to get a foothold back into the match. Some late pressure yielded a free-kick for the visitors right on the edge of the box, however, Aime Kandu Fotso fired his shot well over the bar.
HT: 3–0
With their FA Cup future looking bleak, Hungerford came out for the second half with renewed purpose, and they had a confident shout for a penalty in the first minute as Ben Stallard went down in the box, though it was waved away by the referee. The complexion of the match shifted dramatically shortly afterwards as Troy Perez-Duah's afternoon came to an abrupt end on 53 minutes. The midfielder was late into a challenge, prompting the referee to reach into his pocket and produce a straight red card - much to the disbelief of both benches. Uxbridge felt the challenge didn't warrant a red, while Hungerford were left frustrated that advantage wasn't played, as they would have been clean through on goal. It proved to be just one of several perplexing decisions from the man in the middle as the half wore on.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Uxbridge refused to simply shut up shop and continued to create openings. Moore anticipated a bouncing ball on 56 minutes to play in Francis Amartey, whose goalbound effort was brilliantly nicked off his toes by a defender just over the crossbar. Minutes later, Moore cut inside and unleashed a fierce drive that fizzed just past the post.
Moore was everywhere, putting in immense defensive shifts to protect the lead while also orchestrating counter-attacks. On 64 minutes, his defensive intervention set Amartey free, whose narrow-angle shot was parried by the keeper. From the subsequent corner taken by Sam Deadfield, the ball fell to Moore, whose low shot rebounded agonisingly off the post and back into Clarke’s grateful arms.
Hungerford pushed hard to exploit their extra man, and Morris had to be alert, surviving a defensive mix-up on 66 minutes when a headed clearance flew wide of the post for a corner. Moments later, a quick break down the Uxbridge right saw Nana Owusu twisting and turning to deliver a cross that found Ackeem Stewart, whose excellent header clipped the top of the crossbar and went behind to safety.
The visitors eventually broke through on 76 minutes when George Alston made a strong driving run, sliding a pass through to Ackeem Stewart, who rounded Morris to calmly slot home, narrowing the deficit to 3–1 and setting up a nervy finish.
Sensing a lifeline, the visitors threw bodies forward, pinging an effort over the bar soon after. Yet, the ten men of Uxbridge managed the closing stages superbly, displaying excellent tactical discipline. Later on, Moore set up substitute Trevan Robinson, whose sharp cut inside culminated in a low shot well saved by the diving Clarke, somewhat atoning for his earlier mistake. Deep into stoppage time, a defensive mix-up from a long ball almost let Uxbridge in again as the ball dribbled narrowly past the post with Moore applying his trademark pressure on the backline.
When the final whistle blew, it sealed a deserved victory, underlining the composure and character that has been a trademark so far this season for The Reds and securing a landmark FA Cup triumph that ended a 92-year wait for the club. They go into Monday’s draw fearing no one.
FT 3-1
Uxbridge: Morris, Brown, Martin, Burchell, Massey, Nnadozie, Perez-Duah, Deadfield (Prior-Tack), Amartey (Robinson), Moore, Le Paih Subs Not Used: Orlowski, Lawal, Duffy, Allsopp
