In near-perfect Sunday league conditions, a depleted Boots Wednesday squad threw away a half time lead to lose 6-4 against Wollaton Pirates Reserves. The game started very edgily and Boots came closest to opening the scoring with Paul seeing a header saved from the top bin and Patto blazing a rebounded corner just over the bar. However, it was Wollaton who opened the scoring after 15 minutes when their striker was found unmarked at the back post and he finished extremely competently past Phil in goal. Boots finally began passing to feet and talking, with Bally and Patto bringing in Kieran and Danny on the wings, and it wasn’t long before Kieran’s chipped cross from the left drew a foul in the box, as Bally tried to chest down the ball. Rowan dispatched the penalty into the bottom right corner to level the game. Phil made a number of smart one-on-one saves while Wednesday continued to press at the other end with a few long range efforts from Paul and Bally going narrowly wide, before Rowan was tripped just outside the area with 5 minutes to go. While the Pirates wall assembled, Patto was permitted to remain onside 1 yard in front of the keeper, and he (deliberately) dummied Brett’s low shot which ripped under the unsighted keeper to give a jubilant Boots the lead.
Wollaton took the initiative in the second half and began to knock the ball long for their sprightly wingers and forwards to exploit, racing to a 5-2 lead. Boots couldn’t seem to get their passing game together or release the ball at the right times, and despite having a few attempts at goal, they simply weren’t as ruthless as their opposition, who found the corners of Phil’s goal with unerring ease, and also won a penalty when Fletch’s strong (but ball-winning tackle) was penalised. Kieran and Chris worked well to stem the threat from the left wing, while an injury to Danny saw Oli come into the right side with 30 minutes remaining. Rowan and Paul battled extremely well throughout the match and Boots began a mini-revival in the final 10 minutes when Paul headed home a point-blank header from Man of the Match Rowan’s corner, before adding a second with only minutes remaining, this time from a high Simon cross that Paul expertly flicked into the bottom corner. In the end though, Wollaton’s speedy counter-attacks and clinical finishing were too much for a Boots defence that had coped well for long spells of the match.
