We made it 2 wins from 2 games in our pre-season campaign with an entertaining match against Easington lane WMC.
Sacriston started the game well passing the ball well and Ward was getting plenty of joy down the left hand side. It was from that side that we constructed our first real chance when Potts rolled the ball out to Boyd who carried the ball over halfway before feeding the ball into Ward who exchanged passes with Embleton before putting Gary Draper in with a chance of a shot on goal but his powerful volley went just wide from a narrow angle.
Then after a good spell of possession Sacriston shot themselves in the foot when Marc Bladen got caught in possession in his own half when he tried an ambitious turn only to lose the ball with men committed forward and despite some of the best efforts of the rest of the defence the Easington forwards worked the situation well to eventually finish the chance.
Then on 28 minutes some more casual defending by Sacriston allowed Easington to get into the box where Marc Bladen anxiously tried to win back the ball but a penalty was awarded against him when he fell on the ball and was adjudged to have handled the ball. Easington missed the penalty when the taker did a Chris Waddle and blazed his shot high over the cross bar.
Sacriston lost they way for a while but regained they composure towards the end of the first half where Graeme Embleton threatened the Easington goal with some shots and free kicks.
During the 2nd half Sacriston were now settled and started to dominate possession and apart from the very occasional Easington attack were totally on top. Sacriston got level on 59 minutes when Gary Draper did brilliantly to chip the keeper from a tight angle but his effort came off the crossbar but Grant Boyd popped up on the edge of the box to tap home the rebound with a RIGHT footed shot.
Sacriston then turned up the pressure with Coates and Embleton testing the Easington keeper with shots before taking the lead on 71 minutes when Danny O’Brien headed in Graeme Embleton’s corner from 5 yards out.
Anthony Ward was then twice denied a goal from great saves by the Easington keeper who made an eye catching performance. We pushed hard for a 3rd goal but it didn’t arrive and the game finished 2-1.
The team played well at times if a little carless in possession but the game was a good workout for the lads. Gary Draper and Graeme Embleton drove the team well when things got a little difficult in the first half and along with Gregory & O’Brien who kept the younger guys calm with assured displays in defence. Thornton did well and put in a good shift, although he needs to bring a different pair of shooting boots next week I reckon along with young Horner who was excellent on the ball, Solan and Boyd looked sharp often pinching the ball from nowhere and got forward often. Coates put in a lively display but would have liked more attempts on goal. Gary Draper was fantastic in everything he did his ball control was excellent, he linked up all the play and his work rate was just awesome.
We play Chester-le-Street Whitehills next Sunday at home 11:00 am kick off.
