On a cold and chilly day at Sinsil Bank Stadium in Lincoln, our Strollers squad did us proud to bring home the silverware to South Lincs.
Playing in our first mixed tournament (as opposed to league) we went with a strong squad, as did most of the other teams.
The format was 7-a-side teams with the rule that 3 of the on-field players had to be women. Four team competed and we played a double header round robin against our opponents, so a six game league.
To cater for this we took a squad of 9, 4 outfield ladies, 4 outfield men and a keeper.
The squad was:
Back row: Paul Beard, Steve Brine (GK), Frank Smith, Dave Forth, Taff LoveseyFront row: Merryn Kelby, Judith Jagger, Rachel Angell, Jan Richardson
Game 1: Sleaford 0 – 1 Strollers (Kelby)
A good start against a very strong Sleaford team which included Iain Ross in their ranks. A well taken goal from Merryn Kelby decided this one. Steve Brine was called into action late in the game on a few occasions but stood strong in goal.
Game 2: Strollers 0 – 0 Lincoln Invictus
Lincoln Invictus continued their habit of being a bit of a bogey side for us and despite creating several chances we couldn’t break them down. Taff Lovesey came closest with a curled shot that hit the post, but it finished no score.
Game 3: Strollers 1 – 2 Grimsby Corinthians (Kelby)
Although we started well with Paul Beard and Judith Jagger looking strong at the back, Grimsby took the lead after we lost concentration and allowed their winger to break free on our right. With Rachel Angell, and later Jan Richardson working hard in midfield, we started to fight back and Kelby once again proved deadly in front of goal to bring the game to 1-1. We let the game slip though when a loose ball out of defence gave the ball to Grimsby and they scored the winner late in the game.
Game 4: Strollers 1 – 0 Sleaford (Smith)
With four points from our first three games we knew we needed to finish strong. We felt confident though as our passing and movement was improving game on game as we got used to each other and had a better understanding of the formation. Sleaford were clearly looking for revenge in this return game and were passing the ball about well, looking to find an opening, but Dave Forth and Jagger held them at bay.Just after the half way mark in the game, Lovesey won the ball back in defence and played a pass into the path of Frank Smith who had broken away from the Sleaford defenders. Smith took his chance and we were 1-0 ahead.A few minutes later an almost identical situation occurred, this time Lovesey sliding a pass through to Kelby. On this occasion the keeper was able to block the shot and shuffle it around the post.1-0 full time.
Game 5: Grimsby Corinthians 0 – 2 Stroller 2 (Smith, Lovesey)
It was now our turn to look for a reversal of the first game and we played our best football of the day in this one.Smith put us ahead early in the match with a scuffed shot that beat the keeper. Grimsby pushed back but the chances they created were well covered by Brine in goal. Lovesey and Richardson came on at the halfway point and it was a well placed and weighted pass from Richardson that gave Lovesey the space to beat his man and fire a shot into the far corner. With a 2-0 advantage we switched into a more defensive formation, with our midfield sitting slightly deeper and mustered well by Beard from the back, we limited Grimsby to some speculative long shots and help our two goal lead.
Game 6: Lincoln Invictus 1 – 2 Strollers 2 (Lovesey, Kelby pen)
A quick tot up of the points going into this and we knew that a win would move us to the top of the table. Unfortunately, the Lincoln Invictus hoodoo hit us again, as early in the game, Richardson inadvertently stepped into our penalty area. Their striker tucked the ball away to go one up. Despite the set back we didn’t let our heads dropped and created chance after chance with domination of possession. Lincoln defended well though and their keeper made a few good saves, before Lovesey found himself one on one with him and he was unable to stop us equalising. The game started to fragment a little, and became very stop-start, and despite us retaining possession, we were struggling to create clear chances, in fact Lincoln looked likely to hit us on the break at times. In the dying seconds of the game, a mix-up over a ‘player to keeper’ back pass led to an opponent stepping into their area and, Kelby stepped up to confidently tuck in the winning goal, with, what proved to be, the second but last kick of the game.
Points for the final table finished:
13 points Strollers 10 points Grimsby 9 points Sleaford 2 points Lincoln
A shout out too for Stroller Steve Bavage Crowson who refereed his first tournament and did an excellent job.
As manager my thanks to all the squad for a great day of football and camaraderie.
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