The team responded very well today after the bad result we had at Coxhoe on Thursday and the cup we won last year we defended well here in the 1st round. The key to this victory was our excellent defensive display in the first half. We were playing against a strong wind for the first 45 minutes and Houghton started the game well and had lots of corners and long throw in’s into our box which we defended superbly as a team. The back 5 and the goalkeeper gave each other excellent communication and our marking and positioning was so much better and this gave us the foundation we needed to go and win the game.
We played good football when we had the ball and our passing was crisp but most things broke down with the final cross or shot. Then on 20 minutes Chris Wood took matters into his own hands when he received the ball from a throw in near the touchline and he danced his way past 3 defenders into the penalty box before rifling his shot into the roof of the net. It was a brilliant individual goal.
Greg Coates won us a free kick on the edge of the box on 44 minutes just before half time with a clever turn from which Graeme Embleton struck his shot which bounced awkwardly in front of the Houghton keeper who allowed the ball to squirm out of his grasp and into the net.
This gave the team breathing space and the 2nd half should always have been easier kicking with the wind.
The game as a contest was virtually over a minute into the 2nd half when after some good play between Embleton, Coates & Ward who cut the ball back to Draper 14 yards out who struck his shot towards the top right hand corner of the net with the keeper well beaten the Houghton defender on the line pulled of a great one handed save to tip the ball over the bar. The referee correctly sent the defender off and gave a penalty. Anthony Ward slotted home the penalty to make it 3-0.
We got a little sloppy for 10 minutes or so after that and Potts in the Sacriston goal was called into action saving superbly from a one on one but apart from the odd goal kick he had nothing else to do in the 2nd half and his excellent display in the first half was now reaping its rewards.
Embleton added a 4th goal when Ward did well with a powerful run into the box and he cut the ball back to the centre of the goal where Embleton ran on to the ball and slammed home a left footed shot.
Coates who had done some good work during the game looked like he might not get on the score sheet after missing an open goal with a header and missing a one on one with the keeper hitting the cross bar. He did score though on 76 minutes when Graeme Embleton’s excellent left foot cross found him unmarked at the back post and his deft header found the corner of the net.
On 79 minutes Sacriston went 6-0 up when a cross from the right came into the box and the Houghton defender headed the ball into his own net under pressure from Ward.
Josh Gibbs who made a good impact when he came on at right wing back could have made it 7-0 when he beat the offside trap and found himself one on one with the keeper but his shot was well saved.
Overall a very good team performance with our first clean sheet of the season.
