The weather was cold but bright, the pitch was very uneven and unpredictable with regards to the bounce.
Hadcroft had a much reduced squad to pick from for this quarter final with several players injured or away.
Hadcroft had to play several players out of position Goal Keeper Josh Howe had to make his first ever start as an outfield player at left back and he handled himself very well. With such a changed team Hadcroft had the 2 substitutes Ian Whittaker and Mark Winter both carrying injuries only to be used in an emergency they knew this was going to be a difficult game. Lloyds sent in wave after wave attacking the Hadcroft defence, Keeper Scott Newman ably assisted by MOM David Chambers kept them at bay. Hadcroft had a golden opportunity to take the lead following a succession of corners only to see Damon Lewis head the ball just round the post into the side netting. Lloyds eventually broke the Hadcroft resistance when a cross ball with no Lloyds player anywhere near saw defender Lee Turner and Keeper Scott Newman misjudge the situation on 41 minutes with the ball bouncing over the head of the keeper and into the net 0 – 1.
HALF TIME 0 – 1
Hadcroft got off to a flying start in the second half and could have been on level terms within 2 minutes when a thunderbolt from Sean Gray hit the post. Lloyds increased their lead on 51 minutes when a silly defensive mistake let them in 0 – 2. Hadcroft could have reduced the lead but you could tell it was not going to be their day when a shot from Captain Chris Smith hit the bar and dropped safe into the hands of Lloyd’s keeper. Lloyds could have increased their lead on 57 minutes when they missed a penalty but this did not cause them to drop their heads and they kept the pressure on the Hadcroft defence. 2 silly defensive errors on 60 and 62 minutes saw Lloyds increase their lead 0 – 4. Julian Probyn could have notched up Hadcroft first when after a powerful run and with an open goal he hit the ball past the outside of the post. Lloyds 5th came in similar fashion to their first 4 on 74 minutes 0 – 5. This is how the score remained until the final whistle.
FULL TIME 0 – 5
Next match at Home on Sunday 13th November to Malt Shovel Dudley in the league with the delayed Kick off time of 11.05am because of Remembrance Sunday.
