This match was played in a very good but competitive spirit. The playing surface at Shotton was absolutely fantastic and encouraged good attractive football which for most of the game we produced and at times we were a joy to watch.
Our good early play resulted in us taking the lead when Embleton’s corner was flicked on at the near post by Brennan and finished off by Collinson at the far post who headed home.
Shotton got level on 12 minutes when the Sacriston defence switched off from a throw in and after one flick on the Shotton player found himself through on goal and he found himself with plenty of time to finish superbly with a powerful shot into the top right hand corner.
Sacriston were forced into a re-shuffle when Daniel O’Brien went off with blurred vision during the first half and only towards the end of the first half did we regain our earlier composure. Then just before half time Sacriston regained the lead when John Harrison beat the Shotton keeper & 2 defenders to Andrew Collinson’s cross to guide his header just over the goal line.
Sacriston extended their lead early on in the 2nd half when James Thornton’s in-swinging free kick was flicked on by the head of John Harrison towards the far post where Andrew Collinson was waiting for it to drop and he then had a shot which took a cruel deflection of a Shotton defender who was attempting a last ditch block and the ball ballonned up and over the Shotton keeper into the net.
Sacriston looked to have made the game safe on 65 minutes when Substitute Stuart Dawson did brilliantly to latch on to a ball on the left hand side before embarking on a powerful run beating 2 Shotton defenders on the way into the penalty box before eventually being fouled resulting in a spot kick being given. Then by popular demand from his teammates Dawson took the penalty himself and he took it brilliantly powerfully placing his shot into the bottom left hand corner of the net despite the Shotton keeper actually going the right way.
Unfortunately Sacriston switched off for the next 10 minutes and allowed Shotton back into the game. The two goals that Shotton scored were both splendid strikes from the edge of the box giving John Lee no chance in the Segga goal but we were very slack in allowing them the chance on both strikes to get the shooting opportunity.
Thankfully we did switch on for the last 15 minutes and played lots better to ensure we won the game 4-3 in the end. We started keeping possession by playing easier passes and moving of the ball just like we were doing at the start of the match.
This was the perfect workout just one week away from the season opener away against Brandon Sports Club next week. Every time we started strolling or switched of we were punished. We did play well though at times and we look much fitter and stronger with every pre-season game we have played. We just need to make sure we switch on for the full 90 minutes and defend properly doing all the basics correctly throughout the match.
