FC HUNTERS LEAP V WELTON S&SCFC
Welton came into there opening game of the season with a host of selection problems with 5 first team regulars unavailable. Big Al was forced to delve deep into his squad just to find 14 players who were fit and in the county. Big Als patched up team could have become even shorter in number thanks to some shoddy driving from new goalkeeper Rick Osiah who chose to drive the wrong way down the contraflow traffic lane down Canwick road much to the annoyance of other motorists. The Social convoy managed to get to the match and would line up with Osiah in goal back three of Taylor, Snookes and Carter protected by a midfield trio of Stocks, Dhindsa and Craig Wilkinson with Gordon and Luke Clifford out wide, Sutton and Drabble were up top. In reserve were the unfortunate Mayhem, Lee and evergreen Mark Daley who had been drafted in from the reserves. This would be a huge test for Social as league new boys Hunters Leap are fancied by a lot of people to be a surprise package this season.
The first half was a fairly cagey affair with neither side creating any clear cut chances. The only real incident of note in the first half was an early crunching tackle By Joe Snookes on local idiot Lee Johnson which despite tough talk from the centre forward clearly fazed him and caused him a lot of pain. The only damage to Snookes from the incident was the indentations on his knee from Johnsons teeth. On behalf of every Welton fan up and down the country we salute you and thank you Joseph. This incident set the tone for the first half and indeed much of the second half, This game was not about pretty football, It was going to take desire and strong Will for either side to come away with the points. Midway through the first half disaster strook for Welton as Taylor was taken off with an injured ankle, an injury that looks like keeping the Scottish stopper out for a few weeks. Taylor was replaced by Daley who came on in the centre of the park a move which saw Dhindsa drop into defence. The first half fizzled out without any more major incident with both defences firmly on top.
Welton kicked off the second half and immediately cut through the Hunters for the opening goal. Neat passing between Sutton and Drabble sent Stocks charging forward on a rare burst, the skipper slid an inch perfect pass through to Clifford who charged towards the goal. Despite several blatant attempts to bring down Weltons wing Wizard he stayed on his feet and thanks to a good advantage from the referee Clifford was in the area where he was hacked down leaving the referee no choice but to point to the spot. Confusion then ensued as Weltons regular penalty taker Coupland wasn’t on the pitch to take the penalty. The ball was eventually given to Sutton who stepped up bravely to smash home the penalty low to the keepers right. The Hunters keeper got a decent hand to the kick but was beaten by the power of the shot. 1 0 Social. Welton never really pushed on from here though and Welton had Osiah to thank on more than one occasion as the new keeper twice denied Johnson from point blank range. Welton could have made it 2 0 through Drabble but the frontmans powerful strike was directed straight at the keeper. Social were becoming a little nervous in possession which invited pressure onto the back three and the inevitable equaliser soon followed. A corner was floated over from the left hand side and was met powerfully by Hunters defender Dave Hone who powered his header home giving the keeper no chance. Thankfully this didn’t signal the start of a typical Welton collapse and Welton almost regained the lead through Luke Clifford. Clifford picked up the ball near the halfway line on the left hand side and set off on a similar run that earned the penalty he rounded the keeper who had just done enough to send him wide of the goal, off balance Clifford could only pull his shot agonisingly wide of the right hand post. Snookes was again involved in a tussle with one of the Hunters players this time it was Adam Shear who felt the force of Snookes. Shear clearly unhappy about Snookes challenge offered to take Snookes round the corner behind a hedge. One can only imagine what he had planned for Joe, in the immortal words of C Montgomerie Burns, “something gay no doubt”. With time running out it looked as if Social were going to have to settle for just a point but when Peter Sutton is on the pitch anything is possible. Good work from Gordon down the right wing led to the ball landing at Suttons feet on the edge of the area, Sutton turned on a sixpence and somehow took the ball past two defenders he got to the touch line and intelligently squared to Clifford who smashed home from 5 yards into the empty net much to the delight of the travelling Welton faithful. It was backs to the wall for Welton after that but heroic defending from the Social including several spectacular blocks from Carter ensured that Welton returned home with a vital 3 points after a hard thought win.
Match Ratings
Osiah (9) excellent handling and pulled off a string of fine saves
Taylor (4) looks like a nasty injury
Snookes (8) bone crunching tackling on his competitive debut
Carter (8) would have thrown himself in front of a bus to protect the lead
Dhindsa (8) assured display at the back
Stocks (8) same old Stocks. Struggled with the Post match Tika.
C Wilkinson (9) bullish display. The driving force in midfield
Clifford L (9) match winning performance
Gordon (8) revelling in his new wide role
Sutton (8) dazzling run to set up the winner, good penalty
Drabble (8) held the ball up well, selfless performance
Subs:
Daley (8) canny performance from the wily veteran
Dream team top scorer
Clifford L
Statistic ..................pts
Mins played 90............2
Assists 1 .................3
Goals 1 ....................5
Total 10
Paceys Bonus points
Snookes *
C Wilkinson **
Carter ***
Can we have you?
Anyone would do next week due to the current crisis but centre back Dave Hone was the pick of the bunch for Hunters leap. A strong defender good in the air and a tough tackler, also scored a terrific header.
You’re not very good!
Lee Johnson. Without doubt a terrific player but never stops whinging and talked himself into the book. squandered several chances