Match Day 2 Midlands Premiership 60+

Report from skipper Gary Wildsmith

Our first game was against Chesterfield. We started at a high intensity and kept our opponents on the back foot. Unfortunately we didn’t settle into our stride fully as despite peppering their goal with lots of shots it seemed we couldn’t find the back of the net. We took the lead eventually with a goal from Gary Wildsmith. The pressure eventually took its toll on our opponents as Colin Barrett-Treen added a second followed by a third from Steve Longden. The final score was 3-1 although we could have scored lots more with the amount of shots we had.

Our second game was a much tighter affair against Matlock. The first half was a tight affair. Gary Wildsmith again opened the scoring but Matlock pulled one back. Steve Longden did a top job man marking their main player to ensure Matlock were kept at bay. 1-1 at half time. With no substitutes to call on the team had to dig deep into their energy reserves. The turning point of the game saw a flashpoint after a third foul from Graham Curry on the Matlock striker eventually caused him to lose his cool and he retaliated by pushing Graham to the ground. The referee awarded a blue card to Graham and a red card to the Matlock striker. With the teams both having 5 players on the pitch, Gary Wildsmith added a second from distance and then a third in quick succession. Colin Barrett-Treen then added a fourth as Graham returned and we took advantage of the extra man towards the end of the game. Matlock added a late consolation giving us a 4-2 as we played out the remaining couple of minutes retaining possession and running the clock down.

The weather wasn’t the best but the team did very well especially as we had no substitutes and to a man can be pleased with all our individual performances to get the 6 points we deserved.

The match report author is wondering if it was a deliberate ploy not to have substitutes available after his faux pas on match day 1 when he fiedled 3 50+ players, one more than the legal maximum of 2!

Squad: Gary Wildsmith (capt), Trevor Oliver (gk), Steve Longden, Graham Curry, Colin Barrett-Treen, John Hutchins

W3-1 v Chesterfield (Wildsmith, Longden, Barrett-Treen)

W4-2 v Matlock (Wildsmith x 3, Barrett-Treen)

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