The Strollers B squad were a whisker away from taking all nine points this month as they produced some of their best football in the league to date. Following impressive victories over Gainsborough and Grimsby Ancient Mariners, a third win was just a post width away, as a well hit penalty struck the upright and bounced clear to leave the match with top of the table, Long Bennington, tied at 1-1.
Strollers B 3-0 Gainsborough (Scarborough x 2, Woods)
A dominant performance from Strollers to start the day as they bossed possession against winless Gainsborough.
Ian Scarborough opened the scoring when a mistake from the keeper resulted in his clearance falling straight to Scarborough who finished clinically.
The Reds contiunued to push and pressure their opponents and it was no surprise when an interception and pass from John Hutchins found Scarborough open again to make it 2-0.
Les Woods came onto the pitch at half time and was soon in on the action, and it was not long until his well hit shot from distance found the back of the Gainsborough net to make it 3-0.
Strollers 6-0 Grimsby Ancient Mariners MAC (Phythian, Woods x3, Scarborough, Blakemore)
Probably our B squads best performance of the season as they dominated this one from start to finish. The Strollers quickly settled into their passing game and apart from a few breaks on the wings, Grimsby were limited to a few long shots.
A sweeping move from back to front with Paul Blakemore feeding Ian Scarborough, who in turn found John Phythian with his low cross, resulted in the first goal as Phythian hammered the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
The second half saw the Strollers running riot with five further goals. The first was another fine finish from distance from Les Woods after our lads won the ball back in midfield.
A few minutes later, as the menacing Scarborough prepared to shoot on goal, a Grimsby player entered the penalty area and Blakemore finished the penalty with aplomb.
Despite the margin, Strollers were in no mood to let up and went four ahead when Blakemore found Woods in space who finished neatly with his left foot.
Soon afterwards, a superb long diagonal pass from the back left to attacking right by Frank Smith once again found Woods with time and space to complete his hatrick to take the score to 5-0.
As full time approached, Scarborough got on the score board again after John Hutchins won the ball well and fed an incisive pass through the middle of the Grimsby defence.
Stroller 1-1 Long Bennington (Woods)
A much tighter and more physical affair in the third match, as we faced up to league leaders Long Bennington.
Strollers dominated the early exchanges and it was no surprise when Woods notched onto a pass from Scarborough to put our lads a goal ahead.
The game continued to be tight, with both teams having very little by way of clear openings. At the back Hutchins was defending superbly to keep Long Bennington top scorer, Monahan quiet. Unfortunately, with Hutchins left one on one with the striker, for the first time in the match Monahan got the better of him and finished clinically to make things even.
Chances continued to be few but both keepers were called into action occassionally with Tony Fisher pulling out a great diving save to keep things square.
As the clock wound down, Strollers earned the break they were hoping for as an opponent was forced to enter his own area to prevent a shot on goal.
Blakemore struck the ball well from the penalty spot and the keeper was well beaten but agonisingly it struck the upright and bounced clear.
Honours ended even at 1-1.
Squad:
Back row: Smith, Hutchins, Woods
Front Row: Blakemore, Scarborough, Fisher (gk), Phythian
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