League

Lewisham
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Julian Waddington took the kick off in the first half of the match. Lewisham's Marc Donaldson played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Ivor Norton in the 4th minute of play. 9 minutes into the game, Ivor Norton cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Marc Donaldson was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. An unexpectedly hard shot by John Scott in the 12th minute of play forced Lewisham's goalkeeper Marc Donaldson to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Carl Seaward fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 14th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Derek Rashleigh having to interfere. Lewisham's Marc Donaldson played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by John Scott in the 16th minute of play. In the 20th minute, Lewisham's Billy Pollock seemed to kick out at an opponent. The referee saw this and, surprisingly, showed Billy Pollock the red card, dismissing him from the pitch. The coaching staff of Lewisham protested bitterly, but the referee would have none of it, and Billy Pollock had no choice but to slowly walk off the pitch. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 20th minute of the game. One of Lewisham:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Rotherham:s goal. Ivor Norton sent away a hard shot on goal in the 24th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Marc Donaldson showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Julian Waddington, who was totally free with the ball in the 27th minute. In the 34th minute John Scott shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Marc Donaldson saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Michael Harrison kicked well hit freekick during the 36th minute of the match. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Phillip Clayton during the 38th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. The supporters of Lewisham booed when Rotherham was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 38 match minutes in a wonderful position. Phillip Clayton didn't get a good kick on the ball. During the 40th minute of the match Phillip Clayton completely mistimed his tackle and brought down his opponent. The referee gave Phillip Clayton a yellow card, his second in the match, which meant he could no longer take part in the game. A collision led to Rotherham getting a freekick after 41 minutes play. Phillip Clayton hit a great ball. In the 45th minute, Carl Seaward reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Derek Rashleigh. The goal made the score 1-2. Disappointed in the 1-2 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Owen Whittaker stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Marc Donaldson took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from John Scott, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 56 minutes into the match, Lewisham's goal looked a bit too open when Ivor Norton came free, but Marc Donaldson reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Ivor Norton sent away a hard shot on goal in the 61st minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 73rd minute, one of Lewisham:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Lewisham. Marc Donaldson went to the wrong direction when Julian Waddington was taking care of the penalty kick which however missed the goal. In the 84th minute, Mike Blueman hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Julian Waddington, 84 minutes into the match, dribbled the ball up the side of the field and decided to take a long shot at the goal. Unfortunately, the ball was poorly hit and landed closer to the corner than to the goal. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Owen Whittaker in the 87th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Derek Rashleigh prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Marc Donaldson made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Ivor Norton in the 91st minute of play. Rotherham's supporters were very happy and cheered loudly because their team had won after a very close match.