League Play-Off

Lavenham
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Robert Speight started the match with the kick off in front of an excited audience. Andre Baldwin showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Robert Speight, who was totally free with the ball in the 7th minute. The supporters of Lavenham booed when Manchester Athletic was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 9 match minutes in a wonderful position. Thomas Hampton didn't get a good kick on the ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Robert Speight in the 10th minute of play forced Manchester Athletic's goalkeeper Andre Baldwin to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 16 minutes into the match, Manchester Athletic's goalkeeper Andre Baldwin had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Zak Davis. The supporters of Lavenham booed when Manchester Athletic was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 16 match minutes in a wonderful position. Carlton Garner-Currie didn't get a good kick on the ball. Eddie Norton showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Bradley Starr, who was totally free with the ball in the 21st minute. If Zak Davis had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 27th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Andre Baldwin showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Robert Speight, who was totally free with the ball in the 29th minute. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Verne McKeown during the 31st minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. After a rather tough play, Lavenham's Verne McKeown got a free kick in the 31st minute. Zak Davis took the ball and in the 35 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Andre Baldwin. Andre Baldwin dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-0. 41 minutes into the match, Lavenham's goal looked a bit too open when Cliff Strongman came free, but Eddie Norton reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Eddie Norton showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Cliff Strongman, who was totally free with the ball in the 44th minute. Eddie Norton didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Bradley Starr went, in the 46th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-1 was the resulting score.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Bradley Starr to make the kick off. In the 52nd match minute, Manchester Athletic was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Cliff Strongman to maneuver through the defense. Lavenham's Robert Speight got a good chance for a goal in the 57th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. After having played for 60 minutes, Bradley Starr managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Manchester Athletic's supporters crossed their fingers, but Bradley Starr was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. 63 minutes into the match, Manchester Athletic's Cliff Strongman sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Eddie Norton narrowly saved just below the crossbar. In the 71st minute the ball was on its way in behind Lavenham's goalkeeper Eddie Norton, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Eddie Norton made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Bradley Starr in the 72nd minute of play. Lavenham's Eddie Norton proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 73rd minute of the match, managed to save Lavenham from getting a goal against them. The supporters of Manchester Athletic booed when Lavenham was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 75 match minutes in a wonderful position. Verne McKeown didn't get a good kick on the ball. Cliff Strongman sent away a hard shot on goal in the 78th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Zak Davis fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 81st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Andre Baldwin having to interfere. In the 82nd minute, Carlton Garner-Currie hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 85th minute of the match Lavenham got a corner. Manchester Athletic's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Kev Constantine ran over to the corner to take the kick. In the 88th minute, Bradley Starr got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Bradley Starr struck a weak shot in the 91st minute. Eddie Norton didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Manchester Athletic. When Carlton Garner-Currie came up free with the goalie in the 96th minute, the Manchester Athletic fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Carlton Garner-Currie couldn't finish the play. The Manchester Athletic players were relieved to hear the final whistle blow to end the match. The away crowd was happy to see their team win after a very tight game.