Coming into this game Warner's record was virtually identical to our own but the challenge that faced us was to be another tough assignment against a side who will be up there come the end of the season. The game began with both sides trying to suss each other out but we looked to be dealing with any threat they had going forward. As ever the same old problems seemed to resurface when we squandered good chances which were to cost us yet again. At 0-0 the best of those chances fell to Gift who failed convert and that was ultimately to prove costly. Paddy and Jeffo have showed promising signs over the last few games that they can form a good partnership in the centre of the park and they were competing well with their midfield two including former player Lewis Jones who was looking to pull the strings. Paddy got the better off him with a great Maradona turn however his through ball carried a bit too much weight to find either Gift or Ross. The turning point came just 11 minutes into the game when Sam went down with his troublesome heel injury, it meant he had to be replaced by Connor which required Kalu to slot back in alongside Jay in central defence. Just 4 minutes later Warner engineered a good move down the left and Connor failed to stop the cross which was delivered into the box well and headed past Harry by their big target man. The response was good as we began to play some good stuff however we lacked that cutting edge in the final third. Their second came following a poor challenge on Jeffo that the referee failed to blow up for a foul, we switched off at the back and the resulting effort was struck hard and low past Harry. With just 22 minutes gone we were left without two of our most influential players down the spine of the team and to rub salt in the wounds Jay was booked for his protests against the challenge. Jude Carter's corner just before half time fell to Jay in the box our big centre half should have scored but the rebounded effort fell to Ross who smashed home to give us a massive boost before the break.
The second half saw a first start of the season for Jude Carroll following his frustrating injury problems but within just 18 seconds he couldn't prevent Warner from restoring the two goal lead when the resulting cross was tucked away. By now you could see the body language had changed from a number of players and yet the continues bad luck just kept on coming when Jeffo's replacement Johnny pulled up with what appears to be a hamstring injury. Warner's next three goals were very sloppy and looking back very bad goals to concede from our point a view. A lucky bounce in the box fell to Derin Bakin and the former Botanic man made no mistake with his finish from 6 yards out. A free header from a corner and a shot which went under Harry made what was a bad day even worse. Credit has to be given to some of the lads who continued to plug away in the second half however. Sam was able to come back on and played through the pain barrier to show his qualities and Zach was lively up front. he was unfortunate not to get off the mark for the season when his long range effort nearly caught out their keeper who wasn't really tested enough. With the game entering the final minutes Gift and Daniel combined down the left and Ethan scored his third of the season with a great finish into the far corner. 6-2 was probably a bit harsh but there was no denying that Warner fully deserved their victory and it was their strength and power that was to prove the difference. Confidence is low at the moment and the fixtures certainly haven't done us no favours, in a weeks time the unbeaten league leaders BRNESC are next up.
