For the first time this season, Loco's Reserves went into a fixture on the back end of a defeat.
Just like the previous fixture at Home to Wilby, they arrived late forcing a delayed Kick Off. To be fair the referee only entered the Locos turf on the stroke of 2pm which was the scheduled Kick Off time.
This didn't seem to cause any problems as Locos were fully prepared physically and tactically as the game started at 2:15pm.
The opening periods of the game were in Locos favour. Without being at their best, they controlled the early parts and had Wilby pinned way back deep in their own half. No notable chances to report before the crucial one on 15 minutes - Colin Thow latched onto a defensive error and composed himself in the box before smashing the ball into the bottom left corner, sending the keeper the wrong way in the process "done him with the eyes" as they say.
A frustrated Wilby team then turned the game into a scrappy affair. They knew they didn't have the quality to match Locos early on, and a 6-0 thrashing from the previous fixture possibly still fresh in the mind, they began to tackle hard and moan at every opportunity amongst themselves and the ref. Their constant long balls were bread and butter for the Locos back 3 who remained calm and organised.
Brendan Logue was forced off through injury on 25 minutes. Ryan Kelly on at Right Wing Back to replace him.
Some half chances for Locos materialised throughout the remainder of the half and had there been more composure and better awareness, the tally could have been increased multiple times. Having said that, a fairly dull yet comfortable first half for the Home Team which stood at 1-0 going into the break.
Second Half the plan was to raise the gears and be more clinical to ensure Wilby had no possibility of punishing us for wasteful chances. 10 minutes into the half this was nearly the case. A lack of concentration allowed the Wilby striker through on goal 25 yards out, Scott Porch raced back and made a tremendous last ditch tackle to deny the frontman any hope of getting a shot away. Brilliant tackle. The game then became slow and rigid. Locos seemed happy to protect their 1-0 lead rather than search for more goals, whilst Wilby seemed happy to settle for a 1-0 loss.
4 changes were then made in quick succession in hope of putting the game to bed. Marc Borthwick entered the field for his Locos Debut replacing Vadim out at Left Wing Back, Snodz replaced Andy Kyle forcing a slight reshuffle - Kev Watson moved up to Holding Midfield pushing Gareth McBlain further up and Snodz slotted into the back 3 and the two front men Chris Chalmers and Colin Thow were replaced by Jack Nolan and Bobby Hearn who was also making his long awaited debut.
The tempo was then raised as the fresh legs began to cause serious problems for Wilby - Jack Nolan picked the ball up on the Half Way line and breezed past 5 Wilby players before rolling the ball across to Bobby Hearn who literally crashed through the keeper before rolling it into an empty net for his debut goal to make it 2-0 on 75 minutes.
The tackle of the season was then produced in the centre of the park. The Wilby man miscontrolled the ball which rolled 15 yards away from him. Snodz, with his ears twitching and foaming at the mouth, resembled a dog chasing a squeaky toy as he charged towards the ball. He then slid in sending the Wilby man 15 feet in the air before leaving him engraved in the Locos turf. No foul said the referee which was the correct decision despite angry protests from the Wilby men. Finally, after 80 minutes we had a cup tie on our hands. Gareth McBlain then got in on the action and picked up a silly Yellow Card for an off the ball scuffle. Correct decision yet again from the ref as he showed both players involved a yellow card.
Moments later a Locos move started from the back, some nice link up play cut the Wilby team open and Bobby found himself in some space down the right flank. The balled rolled across the box to Marc Borthwick who calmly rolled the ball in to make it 3-0. Another debut goal.
Jack Nolan then won a penalty in the dying seconds of the game. Having won the penalty, he stepped up and sent a tame effort straight at the keeper to seal Dick of the Day.
Full Time 3-0.
Not the prettiest game in the world but very comfortable. The subs made a great difference to a game that was dying off to help us see out the tie.
Any sort of win was crucial for Locos this week to put the previous misery well and truly behind them. Well done to all involved.
Man of the Match - Bobby Hearn.
Only on the pitch 25 minutes but grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and was a constant pain in the arse for Wilby. He netted and added and assist also. Perfect sub at the perfect time.
Next up is an Away League Fixture against table toppers Ravens. This win should give us some well needed confidence going into a tough game.
Roll on next week.
