Guide Post had to battle very hard to gain 3 points against a well organised and good footballing Wideopen team.
Guide Post lost Jack Taylor after he suffered concussion playing rugby earlier in the day which left them a little light in the centre of the field.
Wideopen started the game at full pace and repeatedly stretched the Guide Post defence creating a number of good opportunities which weren't capitalised upon. Guide Post felt there way into the game after ten minutes or so but were definitely second best for long periods.
The central defensive partnership of Ryan Young and Adam Dixon with captain Reece Brown in the centre of the park played a magnificent role in keeping Wideopen at bay.
The home side took the lead when Liam mishandled a through ball after going to ground which dropped at the feet of the striker to tuck away.
Guide Post knuckled down and did some hard graft across the team and clawed their way back into the game gradually. Ross Moore managed to hit both posts with the same shot after neat approach play.
Ross Moore and Chris Johnson up front were having a hard time trying to break down the excellent Wideopen defense but late in the first half Ross and Regan combined neatly to allow Regan to slide in the equaliser.
Callum and Regan swapped in midfield to try and combat the threat of the Wideopen no.15 who was their playmaker but despite the change he reamined very influential.
Half time was reached at 1 -1 and coach John Brown made it clear that the performance in the first half wasn't acceptable and fell well short of what the team and players were capable of.
Joe swapped with Liam in goals and Andrew Robson who'd had a torrid time against the Wideopen winger was swapped for George Allsopp at right back.
The second half was a much better display but Wideopen remained extremely dangerous. Some of the Guide Post team were becoming frustrated by the tough match and when a clear foul was missed by the ref a couple of players lost their cool and had to be spoken to by the referee (the usual suspects - Ryan and Ross - Chris managed a warning as well!)
Despite this Chris pulled an excellent goal out of the hat when with his back to goal, running away from the penalty box with two platyers at his back, he spun and dragged a shot back across the face of the goal into the far bottom corner of the goal past the stranded keeper.
The team as a whole knuckled down and some very committed tackling and throwing of bodies on the line helped keep Wideopen at bay.
Guide Post stretched the lead when Callum pulled a cross back from the bye line across the face of goal which was tapped in by the excellent Regan Graham for his second goal of the match.
Wideopen came back and somehow missed a golden opportunity to get a goal back by clearing the bar in front of an open goal at three yards!!
Joe Armstrong was called into action at close range and handled a shot well to keep the home team at bay.
Ryan Young was yellow carded again for another 'mistimed tackle' (I'm being generous !). And Ross had to be substituted for the last 8 minutes after losing his composure in front of the ref. Both Ryan and Ross gave excellent committed performances vital to the teams success but both have to work hard to manage their temperament which can affect their play!
Brad got onto the pitch for the last few minutes after Chris ran out of steam (literally!!).
It ended 3 - 1 to Guide Post who just shaded the game overall against a strong and hard working Wideopen team. The boys all put in a determined display which was gritty at times and due to the pace of the match never particularly 'pretty' to watch. An excellent victory to maintain the 100% start to the season.
MoM was captain Reece Brown for the way in which he constantly worked his 'n-ts' off and was positive and motivating his team mates throughout this tough match.
