On a surprisingly good Clifton pitch, Boots Wednesday did just enough to secure victory against a resilient West Bridgford Albion. With Sicky and SuBo feeding the energetic Dave Eite and Ash on the wings, and Rowan and Pete trying to lose their markers up front, the visitors dominated possession for most of the first half but couldn’t quite make the crucial breakthrough. Sicky came closest with a shot that blazed over the bar after good work from Rowan and Ash, and he also glanced a Pete corner wide, but for much of the half Boots worked the ball well into the box, but then couldn’t test the keeper (i.e. they ‘did an Arsenal’). Albion only had one tactic up front which was for their keeper to launch long balls towards their quick (but moody) forwards, but Fletch and Patto, assisted by Chibbert and Toobs on the sides, won everything in the air and coped well with the movement, as Phil only had a few catches to make.
After Pete’s corner was only partially cleared, Boots opened the scoring at the start of the second half when Ash sent a dangerous low cross back across the area, and Fletch slid in to finish from 2 yards. Boots continued to press, and after beating 3 defenders with his silky skills, Dave Eite was roughly bundled down in the box, but made his dive look so ridiculous that the ref shrugged it off! Crozier and Hawrylak came on for Dave and Ash as the Boots formation reshuffled (with Pete moving to the right wing and Patto going up front), and although Patto almost played in Rowan for a lob, and Pete produced a subtle throughball for Patto (who shot towards goal only to see it parried away by the keeper) it was Albion that scored next; confusion in the Boots defence allowed their striker time on the ball, and he accurately sliced his shot over Phil into the net from distance. As injury forced off Man of the Match Rowan, Bally came on to offer fresh legs up front, and he almost made an immediate impact as Sicky’s cross from the right found him unmarked at the back post, but his first-time volley went over the bar. Boots continued to attack with several dangerous Crozier corners, while a great one-two with Patto should’ve seen Bally square to an unmarked Sicky on the penalty spot, but his pass was intercepted by the keeper. West Bridgford still had their own chances at the other end and Phil was required to make an excellent fingertip save from a long-range freekick, while nerves began to tremble as the ball whizzed across goal on several occasions! However, as an injury forced Albion to play with only 10 men for the final 5 minutes, Boots began to dominate midfield once again, and Bally should’ve connected his right foot with a Chibbert cross from the left, before finally making amends when Crozier swung in a glorious cross that beat everyone except the diving Bally, whose header nestled in the top right corner to give Boots the win they deserved.
