If ever a match can be said to "Be a game of two halves" this certainly was.
Rosehill played some of their best football of the season to go into the break up against a very useful 3rd place Wilmington Lions side.
Rosehill should have had a goal on 5 minutes when Stonham was put put through only to have his shirt tugged by the defender when clean through, The referee did not caution the player which should have been a straight red as he was the last man.
Some great passing and team work saw Rosehill break the deadlock on 19 minutes with a goal from Stonham following a clinical pass by Lee Smith.
Rosehill continued to dominate and had plenty of chances but could not convert. Lee Smith playing his first game in 3 months played sweeper and looked at complete ease, even considering how he felt before the game.
On 28 minutes Shrubby scored following an assist from Max which was a pinpoint pass.
Rosehill made it 3 just before half time with a screamer from Stonham after beating 3 players and firing it into the roof of the net having being initially setup by captain Mark Newman.
James our stand in keeper following an injury to Adam did not have a shot to save in the first half due to a strong defence. Rosehill played their best 45 minutes of football all season.
The second half was completly different. Injuries to Jamie Kuxhaus and Dan Shrubb saw Rosehill's wide play limited. They had both run themselves into the ground and were carrying injuries. Lee Smith played 60 minutes with the last 15 with very tired legs. Chris was suffering the same fate on a heavy pitch.
A defensive error saw Wilmington get a goal back on 55 and then in the 92nd minute a screamer from 25 yards saw Rosehill pegged back to 3-2. James D did excellent in goal and had no chance with either of the Lions goals.
Rosehill held out for a well deserved win and had 70% of the possession.
All in all a great performance if we forget the last 20 minutes, although Rosehill had their chances to increase their lead only to be denied.
Max had a great game as did Newman. Sharpy did not stop running and Stonham was superb. Mark Davies had another great game and was not afraid to put his foot or head in and the same can be said for James Freeman.
If only Rosehill played the second half like they did the first but 3 injuries and some very tired legs meant that that was not an option.
Onto next week now and a home return match against the Wilmington Lions. A win would see Rosehill promoted in second place with 2 games to go.
A lot can be learnt from today's game which we will need to take into next week.
Cheers lads.
Tone
