Finally after a few close defeats we got a vital win coming out on top against a very plucky Coxhoe team.
Sacriston started the game brilliantly taking the lead on 5 minutes when Anthony Ward did well in pressuring the Coxhoe defender into a mistake and he carried the ball into the box before crossing the ball to his strike partner Ryan Grayson who diverted his deft header into the bottom left hand corner of the net to make it 2 goals in 2 games for him.
Sacriston doubled they lead on 7 minutes when Graeme Embleton’s free kick found the head of Gary Draper and his header came back off the post and rebounded to Andrew Collinson who found himself all alone in the 6 yard box to bury the rebound into the empty net.
Sacriston continued to dominate during the rest of the first half playing some excellent football but we just couldn’t get the 3rd goal. Grant Boyd & Graeme Embleton got in each other’s way when a great shooting opportunity presented itself on the edge of the box which resulted in Boyd shooting wide on his weaker right foot.
Just before half time the shape of the game began to change when Andrew Solan had to be replaced by Greg Coates due to a persistent eye problem. Coates went on up front with Ward having to switch to right wing-back.
Coxhoe got a goal back on 43 minutes when an attempted shot from the right hand side turned into a very affective cross where it reached the Coxhoe forward who slid in to divert the ball into the far corner of the net.
This gave Coxhoe the glimmer of hope they needed and the 2nd half became a much tenser affair and the game which looked to be so one sided at one stage was now very much in the balance.
Coxhoe had 2 good forwards and these were causing Sacriston problems on the counter attack. Sacriston wasted several glorious chances to make the game safe in the 2nd half. Greg Coates with the best chance on 82 minutes when he finally beat the offside trap and found himself one on one with Tom Orton in the Coxhoe goal who saved Coates shot.
Then Anthony Ward did brilliantly with a strong run and cross from the right hand side where Ryan Grayson was waiting but he couldn’t adjust his body position in time to meet the cross and the chance was gone.
Then with 5 minutes to go Coxhoe nearly grabbed a point when a cross from the left hand side reached the back post where Grant Boyd facing his own goal was there to clear brilliantly under pressure from a Coxhoe forward who was bearing down on him waiting to pounce.
This was a vital win for us and it lifts us up to 8th and out of the relegation zone for now and although we should have won much easier the result was all that really mattered.
It was a solid all round team performance but Grant Boyd was excellent throughout putting in a great all round display in defence and attack.
The game was played in a very good spirit and refereed well by MR. Denton.
