Letchworth Albion romped to a 6-2 victory over the Green Man on Sunday, with goal machine Ian Holyer sticking it in no fewer than four times.
The club have been marred with controversy of late, with the clubs off the field problems taking the spotlight on the back pages due to some boozy management from club secretary James Parkin.
Boozy behaviour was also present on Saturday night with midfield maestro Matt Morris spotted by club scouts stumbling out of a high profile Hitchin night spot just hours before the game. The player was a surprise omission from the squad – with their being strong suggestions he was set for a starting berth up front. An LAFC club statement read that the player was dropped from the squad after Mike Chiu heard of the player’s antics. However, external sources have claimed the player was still at large during the match, with unconfirmed sightings at the Letchworth Hall Hotel.
A much changed starting line-up saw a few tactical changes from Manager Chiu, with Ian Holyer being pushed up front to partner Craig Hamstring Henry for the first time. Albion started strongly, and found themselves one up within minutes of the kick off through Ian Holyer. They continued to press with Chris List & Rob Curry providing an outlet on the wings. A second quickly followed as the home sides dominance continued to cause chaos in the Green Man’s back line. This time Chris List was in on the action after some smart build up play.
The crowd could have been forgiven for thinking they had turned up at the Nou Camp as a third soon nestled in the back of the net for the Albion, Ian Holyer finishing off an excellent through ball from Rikki Holland. This proved to be a catalyst for the Green Man however, who finally managed to work together some attacking play to worry the Albion’s back line.
The Green Man managed to pull one back just before the break, despite some resilient defending by the Albion back line. Vice-captain Ryan Sweeney put in a fine performance at centre back, despite openly suffering from the two bob bits throughout the match.
Half time: Letchorth Albion 3 – The Green Man 1
The next goal would decide the outcome of the match, and the tension could be felt throughout the ground. The Green Man continued to press for a vital second but ‘keeper Adrian Grange, in his second outing for club, pulled off some fantastic saves from close range.
Iain Cunnigham then got on the end of great cross into the box to make it 4-1 to the albion, much to the relief of Manager Chiu, who was watching the game at home in China via a dubious Chinese satellite link.
The Albion though were still not finished and continued to score goal as will, with Ian Holyer doubling his tally to make it four goals in what was an excellent day at the office for the northerner. The Green Man missed a penalty late thanks to some Grobelaar antics from ‘keeper Adrian Grange, but did eventually grab a consolation goal late on.
Attacking reinforcements Ben Johnson & Russell Kirby came on late on and should have been amongst the goals were not for some unfortunate bobbles, hampering clear goal scoring opportunities.
In Summary, A fantastic win for the Albion.
Full Time: Letchworth Albion 6 – The Green Man 2
