After days of heavy rain it was somewhat of a surprise to find a pitch playable at the Grace Academy. The pitch was heavy and would play a significant role as both teams struggled to read the bounce and the inconsistent run of the ball.
Somewhat against the run of play Affinity had the chance to take the lead when Lee was brought down in the box. Jamie stepped up but found the keepers hands rather than the net. Within a couple of minutes Saints were ahead with a Saints striker latching onto an under hit pass back from Gilly and Dale had no chance to prevent the shot hitting the net.
Affinity reverted to a 4-4-2 but struggled to find any cohesion. Dale continued in fantastic form keeping the deficit to 1 at half time.
An injury to Lee brought Luke into the fray for the first time in a year and his poise and power on the left wing brought some early pressure at the start of the second half. Affinity started to build pressure and a number of chances followed. Cov Saints were still playing their part in the match though and Dale and the defence had to be on their toes to prevent going further behind.
With the clock ticking Affinity pushed forward forcing a number of consecutive corners. Finally the pressure paid dividends with Jamie forcing in a Luke corner to give Affinity a deserved equaliser. With seconds left Josh P had a chance to win the game for Affinity but his shot missed the left hand post by inches. A draw probably a fair result on the balance of play.
Easy decision for today’s man of the match with Dale putting in a superb match saving shift
