The fist home game of the season didn’t get off to the best start. Our toughest opponent “Saturday night Drinking” got the better of a few & the 9:45 meet time for some was a little too early!!!
The game got off to a fast start with both teams trying to keep the ball down and build possession. It was pretty end to end but neither keeper having much to do. A ball which should have been cut out left the Crown Striker 1 on 1 with Simon Wintle and the forward got the better and headed past the keeper to score the opening Goal after 5 mins.
0-1.
It was a tight affair in the first half and Athletic started creating a few dangerous attacks. With Scott Norton narrowly missing the target and Danny Emsley blasting in from a tight angle we are back on track, only for the ref to blow for offside.
The crown edged the possession but without creating anything to mention. Yeadon were struggling to play the football we know we can & unforced errors were halting any progress we were making.
Half time was upon us with things to work on.
After a brief chat Yeadon looked to get our passing game going but a mad spell giving the ball away on various occasions wasn’t helping. Yeadon eventually started to pull the strings which left the Crown relying on counter attacks. A stunning performance by the returning Adam Otway in central defence who cleaned up with last ditch tackles & kept Athletic in the hunt.
A double substitution was a way to get everything moving a bit faster, Jay replacing Simon in Goal & Paul Clough coming on for Stuart Hardcastle in the midfield holding role. This turned out to be a touch of brilliance… ;)
With the tempo raised Yeadon were on top and attacking the goal on a regular basis and it wasn’t long before this resulted in the equaliser. Scott Norton picked out Danny Emsley who placed the ball beyond the keeper to notch up his first of the season.
1-1
With our tails up we pushed for another.
10 minutes later Oli rushed on to a headed ball by James Barker, the Keeper came rushing out only for the striker to get there fist and curl the ball in from distance.
2-1
The last 10 minutes were nail biting, the Crown with wave after wave of attacks pushed for the equaliser. This would have been the case but for a superb double save from Jay Bastow in the sticks. This was followed by another last ditch challenge from Otway to save the game and ensure we came away with all 3 points.
This was far from the prettiest game but we played against a much tougher opposition and came through to steal a win. It’s a cracking start to the season, lets keep the run going in to next week away to Milford.
Team
Simon Wintle
Aaron Welsh
Alex McInnis
Liam Keen
Adam Otway
Stewart Hardcastle
Damien Fleming
Danny Emsley
James Barker
Scott Norton
Oliver Leslie (c)
S – Paul Clough
S – Jay Bastow
S – Craig Williams
Man of The Match – Adam Otway.
