by Harry Day (Images: Steve Ingers)
Mickleover bounced back from their midweek defeat against South Normanton Athletic in the Derbyshire Senior Cup as they defeated the visiting Grantham Town 2-0 on Saturday afternoon.
1-Aaron Chapman 2-George Wilkinson 3-Sam Sanders 4-Will Atkinson 5-Hamza Bencherif 6-Dwayne Wiley 7-Andy Dales 8-Josh Ashman 9-Harvey Smith 10-Manni Norkett 11-Josh Carter
Substitutes: Cotterill, Taylor, Keane, Beavon, McDowell
On the fog-covered pitch, it was the Sports who got off to the faster start of the two sides, and they swiftly got rewarded for doing just that.
It was a dream start for the Sports as they took the lead of proceedings with just seven minutes on the clock, giving them the ascendancy in the early stages of this one.
The move was started by Josh Carter, who broke down the right wing and found himself in some space. The winger delivered an inviting, low cross into the box towards Manni Norkett.
Norkett was intelligent and left the ball for an onrushing Andy Dales, who made no mistake in his finish. The winger slotted a precise first-time effort perfectly into the bottom-left corner to give the Sports the lead.
The match quickly settled into a rhythm following Mickleover’s opener. There was very little in terms of clear-cut chances for either side to get excited about in the stages following the goal.
Grantham’s style of play was clear, as they were seemingly adopting a very direct approach. Balls over the top would pose a challenge for the Sports’ back four, especially in the foggy conditions.
However, the defensive line, headed as usual by Hamza Bencherif, was dealing with everything thrown at them by the opposition thus far.
The 28th minute saw the visiting side come close for the first time on the day. The effort was struck with venom but, much to the relief of the home crowd, travelled wide of the top right corner.
Four minutes later, Mickleover came close to doubling their advantage and really tightening their grip on proceedings.
The chance came from a Grantham corner that was cleared by Harvey Smith. The bounce of the ball caught out the Grantham defence, allowing Manni Norkett to pounce.
Norkett broke through on goal, but his final touch was just slightly too heavy, allowing Dylan Wharton to collect the ball and ensure the scoreline did not get any worse for his side.
A brief moment of franticness in the Mickleover box was quickly defused by Aaron Chapman, who preserved his side’s lead going into the half-time interval.
The fog did not get any better as the players re-entered the pitch for the second half, as Mickleover would have been hoping to find a second to kill the game off.
Half-chances for both sides came in the early stages of the second half, but neither keeper was given a lot to do.
The first change of the afternoon came around the hour mark for the Sports as George Wilkinson exited the field with Jayden Cotterill coming on to replace him.
Less than five minutes later came a big moment in the game for Mickleover as Josh Carter was brought down under pressure in the box. The referee deemed the contact sufficient for a penalty and pointed to the spot.
Harvey Smith stepped up to take the spot-kick, which he dispatched with ease, firing his effort into the bottom right corner and doubling Mickleover’s lead; the hosts were firmly in the driver’s seat now.
More changes were made following the goal as the likes of Jude Taylor and Stuart Beavon were introduced to play.
Grantham did have their chances, but Chapman dealt with everything that was thrown towards him and ultimately was not tested enough by the visitors, as Mickleover took all three points from this encounter.
The stars of the show on the day were undoubtedly the backline; they could simply not be beaten despite the less-than-ideal conditions.
It was an important result for the Sports, who will now turn their attention to Boston Town on Tuesday evening.
