by Gavin Warren
Sporting Evenings Charity League – Sunday Fixture
Mickleover Vets hosted West Bridgford Vets on Sunday in the Sporting Evenings Charity League. With this being our fourth game in a row, we made ten changes to the squad — partly to rest players, but mainly to give others some much-needed game time.
Team Line-Up:
Batten came in between the sticks and commanded his area brilliantly — solid performance and calm when called upon. Lloyd made his debut in Mickleover colours, partnering Stamp at centre-back, and looked steady throughout. Kris and Alton started at full-back, while Jay made his first start after injury, joining Don in the defensive midfield roles. Lillie pushed further forward in a more attacking midfield role, with the front three of Mannion, Whitto, and Ridgeway leading the line.
First Half
It took us a little while to settle, with a few misplaced passes and rushed moments — not surprising given many of the starting XI hadn’t played together before. Patience was key.
After some near misses and good saves from their keeper, we finally broke the deadlock:
Lillie picked the ball up down the right, cut inside with some sharp footwork, and smashed home a fantastic strike — no chance for the keeper. 1–0.
We kept the pressure on, and Lillie was involved again — threading a through ball to Mannion, who timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap and slotted it bottom corner. 2–0.
Our third came from a corner. Lillie’s initial delivery was cleared, but he recovered it quickly and whipped a brilliant cross back in from the right, finding Stamp, who tapped it home. 3–0 halftime.
Second Half
Three changes at the break: Lillie came off after a top first-half shift, joined by Mannion and Don, making way for Danwell, Sav, and Diksa.
Credit to West Bridgford — they came out fighting. They hit the bar and forced Batten into a big one-on-one save to keep our clean sheet intact.
Whitto, making his first start, was a handful all game — strong runs, great hold-up play — and got his reward with a cracking strike to make it 4–0.
Ridgeway was then replaced by the Gaffer, making his long-awaited return to the pitch after putting the lads before himself for so long — what a man!
Whitto wasn’t done yet — using his strength to shrug off a defender before firing home his second of the match. 5–0.Great to see him getting his fitness and sharpness back after a long spell out.
And finally — the moment the crowd was waiting for. The Gaffer pressed hard, forced a defensive mistake, pounced on the loose ball, and smashed his shot past the keeper’s right-hand post. 6–0. The crowd went mad — “They think it’s all over… it is now!”
Full-Time: Mickleover Vets 6–0 West Bridgford Vets
Goals:
Lillie ⚽️
Mannion ⚽️
Stamp ⚽️
Whitto ⚽️⚽️
Gaffer ⚽️
Man of the Match:
Lillie – good solid team performance but Lillie Took his goal brilliantly and added a couple of key assists.
Another solid performance, another clean sheet — well done lads!
Also not going to go into great detail but a big mention to jones and Weston for today and Diksa for coming in last minute to cover and salter for coming along to support and warm up batten great squad players.
Also thanks newts I know you could of stayed at home feeling unwell but dragged yourself to help me so much appreciated.