A ruthless first half performance was all it took for Boots Wednesday to claim their ninth win of the season against Notts Medics B. From the start it was clear that with relegation looming, the opposing defence were quite nervous, and Boots managed to sustain pressure for the entire half, with long throws from Simon, Spence and Sweetman to the heads of Man of the Match Paul (who was dominant in the air throughout the match), Patto and Danny proving the most effective weapons. However, the first Boots chance came from a long ball from the back which sent Danny free in the opening minutes; the onrushing keeper could only clear the bobbling ball to Patto on the edge of the area, who saw his first-time half-volley denied by a strong one-handed save. Boots overcame this setback and soon took the lead when Simon’s long throw from the right was poorly cleared by a defender at the front post, and Patto scooped the loose ball into the top right bin from 8 yards while the unsighted keeper stood rooted behind his confused defenders. Patto added his second of the match (and tenth of the season) when Danny and Chibbert combined well down the right and found Sweetman at the front post, who wrestled the ball from his marker and laid the ball back for Patto to hit low beyond the keeper from close range. While the defence mopped up everything with considerable ease (apart from one goal-scoring chance that required a strong block in the area), Boots continued to create chances (Danny unluckily missing a one-on-one and Patto denied by some poor offside calls) before the third goal was added just before half time; Danny’s curling corner from the left was met by the rising Toobs, and his downwards header bounced over the keeper after taking a small deflection off his marker’s bonce.
Medics got a goal back when they were awarded a fortunate penalty (that the referee seemed less than convinced about) and then added a second goal a minute later after a sweeping move down their right, but for the rest of the second half the Boots defence coped admirably, with Daz (later replaced by Sweetman) and Chris managing the wings well and Brett and Spence mopping up the loose balls. Phil had hardly anything to do for the entire match except perform a few clearances from long balls, and his punching kept their set-pieces at bay. Boots still continued to produce a few opportunities, with Danny seeing a good chance rise over the bar, Brett threatening with some free kicks and Patto and Danny combining for a comical free-kick (won from a back-pass that the referee made them take from the wrong place outside the box). Griffin came on up front and put in a good shift to hold up the ball and assist Patto, while the patient Dave came on for his first league minutes of the season towards the end and help see out a satisfying result.
