**FROLESWORTH UNITED 4-1 WELFORD VICTORIA**
FROLESWORTH United finished the season in style with an emphatic win against high-flying Welford Victoria at the Warren on Sunday morning.
Jake Pantony opened the scoring and Mark James scored his first ever goal for the club, while Greg Garner helped himself to a brace in front of his onlooking father, on what could potentially be his final game for the Rabbits.
Caretaker manager Jordan Halford was forced to make a staggering five changes to the side that bravely battled to a 1-1 draw at the Narborough Bog on Wednesday evening, as Frolesworth’s inconsistent team selection continued to haunt them from the opening day right to the last.
Third-choice stopper Daniel Carvin replaced Matt Errington between the sticks, while United’s very own utility man Martin Finnigan moved backwards from the right of midfield, to replace Matt Pell.
Steven Bottom returned at the expense of Martin Fennon and Halford gleefully welcomed back tricky winger Garner and top-scorer Joe Cook, albeit instead of impressive loanee Chris Bradshaw.
But the Country Boys were intent on bowing out on a high note and dominated the game from the first whistle through to the last and the opening chance fell to Luke Hammond, but he fluffed his lines on his weaker foot after a jinking run.
Garner was the next to threaten the visitors’ goal, flashing one agonisingly across the face but no-one in a claret shirt was on hand to turn the ball home. There was no respite for the rattled visitors, however, and Pantony gave his side the lead with his sixth goal of the season.
He picked up the ball from 30-yards and after being urged to shoot by the home support, the little number 8 sent a vicious pile-driver that was too hot for the opposing keeper to handle.
Frolesworth’s tails were up and they made it a three-minute double salvo from Hammond’s swirling corner soon after, when Garner was on hand to volley home from close range.
It was all one-way traffic now and it wasn’t long before the visitors, swooning like a wounded ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley, were hit with a knockout blow, which evaded even the imperious Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas earlier this morning.
It was this time delivered by the most unlikely of sources though, as Cook’s looping effort dropped handsomely at the mercy of centre-half James, who got his reward for gambling on a spillage.
Cook, himself, then failed to get the rub of the green when he had a perfectly good goal ruled out in bizarre fashion. He stole the ball from the feet of team-mate Hammond before rifling home what he thought was his 15th goal of a superb campaign, only for it to be ruled out for ‘verbal obstruction.’
The decision left a baffled Halford apoplectic in his technical area and he was reprimanded by the referee, before a stonewall penalty appeal for handball was waved away and would ultimately leave him further infuriated.
Neither of which would have frustrated him as much as the sloppy and uncharacteristic of late defending though, which blemished Carvin’s clean sheet shortly before the break as set pieces continued to be the achilles heel of his side.
There were additional unsavoury scenes on the touchline shortly after the break as well, when Luke Evans vented his fury at Halford after being substituted on the hour mark, but the manager promptly informed him in no uncertain terms to head into the dressing room.
Thankfully, there were no such problems on the pitch, however, and Garner put the icing on the cake six minutes from time after exchanging passes with Pantony and cutting inside to curl home a sumptuous shot with his left foot.
The victory means Frolesworth have amassed a total of 28 points this season, trebling their poor tally from last time out and bypassing the managerial duo’s target of 26 set way back in September.
A strong finish from the Rabbits comfortably ensured their Division One status for a third successive year and propelled them into mid-table obscurity, but with the steady progress being made and a prospective beehive of activity expected at the Warren during the close season, Frolesworth will have their targets set slightly further afield in three months time.
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