League Play-Off

Birmingham Park
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Neil Norton took the kick off in the first half of the match. 2 minutes into the game, Jeffrey Stone was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Scotland s1 athletic's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Running Ducks the free kick. After a rather tough play, Scotland s1 athletic's Jeffrey Stone got a free kick in the 2nd minute. In the 3rd minute, Ray Dudgeon made a precise shot to the right of Crispin Shaw. Scotland s1 athletic's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. After some fancy dribbling in the 8th minute, Neil Norton managed to get in a good position for a shot. Running Ducks's supporters rose to their feet, but Neil Norton was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Crispin Shaw breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Crispin Shaw showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Neil Norton, who was totally free with the ball in the 11th minute. Laurence Case received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 13th minute. Wes Meade tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Neil Norton received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 19th minute. Crispin Shaw tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Laurence Case's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Wes Meade read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 21st minute of play. If Ray Dudgeon had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 23rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. An unexpectedly hard shot by Laurence Case in the 28th minute of play forced Running Ducks's goalkeeper Wes Meade to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Laurence Case sent away a hard shot on goal in the 30th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Kris Hoskins hit a great freekick 31 minutes into the match. Scotland s1 athletic's Laurence Case got a good chance for a goal in the 32nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Neil Norton sent away a hard shot on goal in the 40th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Kris Hoskins during the 44th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. After 44 played minutes Running Ducks got a freekick which was hit by Kris Hoskins. An unexpected shot in the 46th minute by Kyle Crichton got the crowd on their feet, but to their dismay it went out on the left side. Disappointed in the 0-1 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Laurence Case was the one to do the kick off. Marcus Saxton hit a great freekick 50 minutes into the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Laurence Case in the 54th minute of play forced Running Ducks's goalkeeper Wes Meade to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Laurence Case sent away a hard shot on goal in the 58th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Wes Meade took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Kyle Crichton, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. If Neil Norton had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 62nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Ray Dudgeon was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 64th minute. Running Ducks's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. The crowd rose to their feet as Neil Norton kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Crispin Shaw. That made the score 0-2 in the 72 minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in Running Ducks's zone, Laurence Case stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Wes Meade came out of the goal and Laurence Case tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 82nd minute Kyle Crichton shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Wes Meade saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After having played for 88 minutes, Ray Dudgeon managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Running Ducks's supporters crossed their fingers, but Ray Dudgeon was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. In the 91st minute, Ray Dudgeon fired away a shot on goal. He put a little to much spin on the ball and sent it just wide of the right post. When Jeffrey Stone was, once again, overly rough in his play he received his second yellow card and was ordered off the ground. 92 minutes had been played. After 93 played minutes Scotland s1 athletic got a freekick which was hit by Jeffrey Stone. The Running Ducks fans' excitement grew in the 94th match minute when Running Ducks's Ray Dudgeon looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 0-3 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. Running Ducks's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.