We kicked off with a strong wind blowing from corner to corner across the pitch but coming from behind us in the first half and playing up a slight slope. Blidworth pressed in the opening few minutes but once Manor had got themselves switched on, the pressure was then put on the home team. The first real chance was a 35-yard blast from Wraggy which was brilliantly pushed over the bar by the keeper after 10 minutes.
It was almost all Manor, as we started to use the wind to our advantage, although at times even the softest of passes were carrying all the through. We gained a corner on 16 minutes, Simon took it and it eventually found Ollie, he laid it back to Corey Moody who took a couple of steps and struck it across the goalie and in off the far post. 7 minutes later and we doubled our lead. A kick from Adam was brought down well by Dom, he carried it forward a few yards then sprayed a brilliant pass wide right for Moo to run on to. The keeper came out but left loads of net to his left for Moo to place the ball into.
On 33 minutes a huge throw from Dom found Simon who fired a tremendous volley towards the net. The keeper saved well but could only turn it into Zac’s path, he had all the net to aim at and made no mistake, to give us a 3-0 half-time lead.
With the wind not abating, the question was...would 3-0 be enough? We tried a few balls over the top with no success at all in the early minutes of the 2nd half and Blidworth sensed they might get back into the game. They almost did with a shot from a corner kick which cannoned off the bar. But Manor were adapting well to the conditions and keeping the ball on the floor. A run and shot from Ollie close in brought a great save from the keeper and he repeated the feat seconds later after Dom had threaded a ball through for Zac to strike one.
Blidworth pulled a goal back on the hour with a great finish from 15 yards. The ball had bounced around the area and we just couldn’t get it clear. But 6 minutes later we restored our 3 goal cushion. Corie collected the ball inside our half and charged forward with a great run through 4 players. His lofted shot was held up in the wind and drifted to the right of area. Zac came in late and blasted an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net.
With 3 minutes left a the home side split our defence and Blidworth’s forward forced Adam into a cracking save. From the resulting corner , a shot came in, hitting the bar and looping up into the air. The wind forced the falling ball goalwards and it dropped almost on the line. Ollie followed and attempted to clear but the ball bounced off him and rolled in. With time almost up Foxy weaved his way through to the bye-line and pulled back for Simon to touch in but the linesman flagged for offside, so it ended 4-2.
Man of the Match was Dom, his control and passing were superb considering the conditions. But overall as a team we adapted well. It was like two games in one, using the wind in the first half, then in the 2nd, we kept the ball low. We defended high up the field which meant Blidworth’s long balls were reaching Adam before their forwards could get near them. A good performance all round>
One little puzzle! Why on earth did the Blidworth manager, when he ran the line in the first half , hold the flag at the top and not by the handle? Bizarre!!
