Huntsman 500 FC v Riverside Rovers
After last week’s demolition by N O Institute, the Huntsman were looking to get their first points of the season on the board and in the bright sunshine they begun to find their feet with 3 good chances in the first 10 minutes.
In the 11th minute Neil Mcloughlin showed he was up for the fight and his persistent battling for a ball paid off when he managed to get the ball through to Liam Bedford on the left, who cut inside and let fly with a powerful shot into the top right hand corner of the Riverside net, from around 20 yards for 1 – 0.
Riverside played themselves back into the game a bit hitting the crossbar on 17 minutes from the edge of the box.
10 minutes later they drew level. A ball through the middle let the Riverside striker run1 on 1 with Barry Davies in the Huntsman goal, before rolling the ball past him. 1-1 – 1.
On the half hour mark Riverside got themselves in front, a free kick from around 30 yard was played into the box eluding everyone including Davies, ending up in the net. 2 – 1 Riverside.
However 1 minute later the score was level again with another fine strike, Paul Jenkins pass to Nathan Tidy allowing him run at the back line and dribble around 3 defenders, finding his way into the box, before firing the ball past the goalkeeper from around 10 yards out. 2 – 2.
After half time Riverside got into their stride quicker and on 48 minutes, another ball through the middle allowed their striker to again run 1 on 1 with Davies before rolling the ball home again 3 – 2 Riverside.
On 51 minutes Huntsman got back level a long throw into the box from Alex Brown was headed on by Paul Jenkins to find the back of the net. 3 – 3.
2 minutes later and another mazy run by Nathan Tidy led to him being hacked down inside the box, leaving the referee with no option but to point to the spot. The resulting penalty was scored by Jenkins for 4 – 3 Huntsman.
3 injuries led to substitutions for Huntsman, but they still had enough to keep the score the same and see out the rest of the game, with a few close efforts and a yellow card on 85 minutes for Barry Davies the only points of note.
Man of the Match – Nathan Tidy – A good midfield display, with several runs Riverside could not deal with.
Mentions for - Scotty Wright – a good battling display before his injury, Stuart Murphy – played very well, with a couple of important interceptions, Paul Jenkins – 2 goals well deserved and Alex Brown – another commanding display at the back.
