League Play-Off

Atherstone
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Andrew Winterbine kicked well hit freekick during the 9th minute of the match. Marlon Bridgeman made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Tod Shilton in the 12th minute of play. After having played for 13 minutes, Fraser Mitchell-King managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Atherstone's supporters crossed their fingers, but Fraser Mitchell-King 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 20th minute, Fraser Mitchell-King 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. In the 27th minute, Wayne Routledge 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. Eddie Millman blasted a shot towards the goal in the 32nd minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Marlon Bridgeman having to make a save. John Higgins fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 36th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Lawrence Bowden having to interfere. John Higgins scored 0-1 in the 38th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Lawrence Bowden, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Harvey Beckford during the 41st minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In the 41st match minute, Atherstone was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Harvey Beckford to maneuver through the defense. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-2.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and John Higgins made a kick off. Marlon Bridgeman didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Fraser Mitchell-King went, in the 54th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-2 was the resulting score. In the 59th match minute, Atherstone was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Barry Knowles to maneuver through the defense. After a defensive mix-up in Atherstone's zone, John Higgins stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Lawrence Bowden came out of the goal and John Higgins tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Micklefield's Marlon Bridgeman played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Fraser Mitchell-King in the 62nd minute of play. If John Higgins had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 64th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. After some careless play in the Micklefield defense, Fraser Mitchell-King kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Marlon Bridgeman. The Micklefield fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Marlon Bridgeman should have stopped the shot. When Fraser Mitchell-King came up free with the goalie in the 72nd minute, the Atherstone 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 Fraser Mitchell-King couldn't finish the play. Atherstone's Lawrence Bowden proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 73rd minute of the match, managed to save Atherstone from getting a goal against them. If Eddie Millman had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 79th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Neither set of supporters seemed pleased with the draw, but both teams had played equally well today.