This Sunday saw us travel to Coalville for a league fixture against another new team in the division. With little known about them, we weren’t sure what to expect.
The first half was a bit scrappy—we didn’t get the ball down and play the way we like, with too many long Hollywood balls, which became frustrating. Still, we had the better of the half, creating chances with keeper pulling off some good saves but often finding ourselves offside. Betts and Mannion caused Coalville’s defence plenty of problems with their pace, and it was Betts who opened the scoring on 18 minutes.
Bailey, Palms and Diksa controlled the midfield well, and any Coalville attacks were dealt with by our solid backline. Great to see Stamp back in the team after missing out last week. The back four were class throughout.
Our first change saw Aiden come off, Clinton going out left, and Mannion pushed further up top.
Half-time: 1-0
At the break, we told the lads to settle down, cut out the long balls, and play to our strengths.
Unfortunately, Bailey had to come off with a tight calf – a shame, as he was having a great game and running the show. Sav came on and made an immediate impact with his no-nonsense tackles, work rate, and simple, effective passing.
We kept the pressure on, and Clifton got on the end of a cross to slot home his first. Ten minutes later, a corner wasn’t cleared, and the ball fell to Clifton with his back to goal—he pulled off an overhead shot that found the bottom corner for 3-0.
Callum added a fourth, latching onto a through ball, outpacing the defence and calmly slotting past the Coalville keeper.
Alton came off the bench to replace Mannion, with Cater pushed further up. Palms then joined the scoring after beating his man to the ball and smashing a powerful strike past the keeper—no chance for him on that one. 5-0 with 20 minutes to play.
Betts was replaced by Weston on the left, and Stanley switched over to the right. Shortly after coming on, Weston fell awkwardly on his shoulder and was replaced by Mannion, who came back on. He made an immediate impact, bursting into the area and drawing a foul. Penalty given.
Palms picked up the ball but unselfishly handed it to Stanley, who stepped up and smashed the penalty into the roof of the net to complete his hat-trick and round off a 6-0 win.
A solid all-round performance from the lads today. We’re pleased with the result, the clean sheet, and, most of all, the attitude shown by every player.
Scorers:
* Betts x2
* C. Palms x1
* Stanley x3
Man of the Match: Could have gone to a number of players, but Ash Mannion gets the nod today. He didn’t get on the scoresheet, but he was a handful all game and instrumental in our attacking play.
