Lye got off to the perfect start converting a first minute penalty and never looked back, thoroughly deserving their comfortable victory on a scorching Evans Park playing surface.
Town management duo Dom and Steve were visibly disappointed with the sloppy nature of several of the goals, with runners not being tracked and lapses in concentration proving to be a constant area that would be punished throughout the afternoon Hard work is a basic prerequisite to competing with sides from level above and whilst this was there in abundance, Town were at times their own worse enemies appearing caught in two minds in how best to deal with the extreme 29 degrees heat. Whilst some disregarded it and pressed the visitors with energy, others sat off opting to reserve fuel looking to pounce on any mistakes. Mistakes that were rarely gifted by the classy opposition.
The visitors 'weathered' the conditions better than the hosts and were aligned collectively choosing the right times to press, squeeze and hold. This tactic served them well as contrary to recent positive displays Town struggled to link their play and retain possession for any spells of note. Midway through the 1st half Lye doubled their lead as the advance player skipped past several lame challenges and poked the ball under the advancing Joe Morris who had little protection all afternoon. By the break it was 0-3 and a real rout was on the cards. The Town defence were desperately trying to play out but again struggled to link up with those in front of them. The ball was turned over, fed out to the Lye left and the winger finished with ease into the far corner. Straight from the restart however Town came out with a resurgence and reduced the deficit to try and make a game of things. Some superb 1v1 play from Nathan Scott saw his cut back met nicely by the left foot of the advancing Josh Wilson to steer under the visiting keeper. The hosts enjoyed a more credible next ten minutes or so creating a couple of decent attempts to reduce the scoreline further but were undone by a very sloppy goal from a defensive perspective. Again the left winger drove in directly and far too easily, his spared converted by one of two unmarked Lye bodies inside the home penalty area for 1-4.
The fifth Lye goal would be the third from a set piece which was a particular frustration to joint manager Steve B as could be overhead in the post match debrief. It's an area the side have significantly improved upon so this will have felt like a backward step. The no.9 Lloyd had been a constant menace all game and lost his marker at the back post to finish with a bullet header.
Congratulations to Lye Town on a very accomplished display and good luck for the upcoming season. Town only have to wait a few days to try and register a more positive display as they host another step 5 side in the form of Haughmond.
As always the link to the footage is here on our YouTube channel Stafford Town TV. https://youtu.be/IFWhJXe5VsY
