Today’s match saw the Colts return to their usual quality and they were just edged out by the runaway League Leaders. Boosted by the return of Hamisi from his loan spell at Chesterfield and Hardy and Booth returning from sickness, the Colts gave a much better performance and were unlucky not to get a draw.
Bate was called into action early on and made a superb save down to his right in the second minute. Clipstone began to exert some pressure and in the 5th minute took the lead. The Colts failed to clear a corner and as the cross back into the box looped in the air, it landed on the unmarked striker’s head, and he guided it into the back of the net.
From then on, the Colts seemed to up their game. They battled hard through midfield and down the flanks. Hunt flashed a shot wide from a tight angle and other long range efforts were blocked. The back four worked very hard and kept Clipstone to a minimum of chances.
The second half was much more of the same. The Colts matched the physical Clipstone but were undone by a long range effort that Bate could not hold onto and the striker was in the right place to side foot home.
At 2-0 down, the Colts could easily have folded like in the previous week. However, they stuck at it and worked really hard. Sprengel returned after being out with a broken foot and was excellent. Hunt, Hayes, Birks and Mogford lively throughout but having no luck in front of goal.
As the minutes ticked by, Clipstone looked as if they might buckle. Vardy dribbled through the box and with the pass thrashing past Hayes, his shot with his wrong foot, skewed narrowly wide. It was left to Hamisi to score Colts only goal with a classy lob over the keeper from the edge of the box, following some excellent work by Vardy.
A much better performance and one the lads can be very proud of, especially after last week. Second place in the League is still up for grabs.
