MATCH REPORT for SUNDAY 3rd March 2013
South Darenth 0 St Michaels F C 2
After their fine win against F C Puma last week, St Michaels were in good spirits to tackle South Darenth in what was expected to be another tough battle against a team who shared the spoils last season. Unlike last week St Michaels were the first out of the blocks and it was after only 3 minutes when Adam Fahy curled a tremendous long range shot over the South Darenth keeper into the top of the net.
This served to wake South Darenth up and the game switched from end to end, albeit with the best chances falling to St Michaels who unfortunately could not add to the score. Half Time came with the score 0 – 1 to St Michaels.
The second half started as had the first and after only a minute St Michaels thought they had scored only for the referee to disallow for pushing. The game continued to ebb and flow with the next goal going to be crucial. On the 68th minute St Michaels suffered a blow when Jack Jolly was the victim of a bad tackle and had to leave the field with a damaged ankle. The South Darenth player received a yellow card for this and was lucky to remain on the field. Jack was replaced by the newly re-signed Dan Tarrant.
Despite this blow St Michaels continued to attack and Adam Fahy was unlucky not to score from a header. With 14 minutes to go Harry Smart replaced James Mckerrell who had been struggling with cramp. Two minutes later St Michaels were even more unlucky when a good header from Kevin Pinner hit the post. With two minutes to go the result was put beyond doubt when a great free kick from Danny Baptiste saw Dan Tarrant power a header into the corner of the goal for his first competitive goal for the club. The final score South Darenth 0 St Michaels 2.
An excellent performance once again from St Michaels which keeps their title hopes alive, albeit not totally in their hands. Good performance all round but special mention for Connor Reardon who had a fine game at Centre Back despite not feeling 100%. Man of the Match however goes to his partner at the heart of defence, Ryan Nibbs who as well as not losing a tackle or header all game was non-stop with his verbal encouragement of the team.
