League Play-Off

Nantwich
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Nantwich's Marlon Foggarty started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Lennie Harper's shot when he came free in front of the goal in the 4thth minute, Francis Rice skillfully showed off with a save to what seemed to be an obvious goal. Vinnie Senior took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Charlie Howarth, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After 11 minutes of play, Nantwich's Lennie Harper made it 1-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Francis Rice was left in no man's land by his defense there! Barrie Hehir charged in rather forcefully in the 18th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Barrie Hehir the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After 18 played minutes Nantwich got a freekick which was hit by Barrie Hehir. Lennie Harper fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 22nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Francis Rice having to interfere. After 23 played minutes SEMI CROCS FC got a freekick which was hit by Len Schofield. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Nath Farrell during the 26th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In the 27th minute there was a penalty for SEMI CROCS FC. Damian Gallacher stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Vinnie Senior. 1-1. Marlon Foggarty fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 36th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Francis Rice having to interfere. With a little luck, SEMI CROCS FC's Francis Rice got control of the ball when Lennie Harper tried to sneak it across the goal line. Francis Rice took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Marlon Foggarty, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 41st match minute, Nantwich was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Karl Monkman to maneuver through the defense. Michael Croft hit a great freekick 44 minutes into the match. In the 45th minute Damian Gallacher shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Vinnie Senior saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. When Nantwich's Seth Donnelly in the 48th minute got a chance for a shot 48th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye SEMI CROCS FC's goalie prevented a goal. The fans had the chance to grab some refreshments as the whistle went for half-time. The score stood at 1-1 after a close first half.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Rowan Letheren stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Francis Rice came out of the goal in the 58th minute to try and stop a shot by Nantwich's Lennie Harper. But to his dismay, Lennie Harper quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 2-1. Marlon Foggarty fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 64th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Francis Rice having to interfere. Vinnie Senior made an important save on a dangerous shot by Charlie Howarth in the 66th minute. In the 70th minute of the match Nantwich got a corner. SEMI CROCS FC's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Michael Croft ran over to the corner to take the kick. Lennie Harper received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 74th minute. Francis Rice tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. A collision led to SEMI CROCS FC getting a freekick after 75 minutes play. Kieran Carroll hit a great ball. Francis Rice took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Marlon Foggarty, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Marlon Foggarty's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Francis Rice read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 83rd minute of play. The audience was convinced that Lennie Harper's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Francis Rice was relentless in the 84th minute of the game. In the 89th minute, Marlon Foggarty 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. 91 minutes into the match, Lennie Harper notched a goal, 3-1, to the right of SEMI CROCS FC's Francis Rice. Francis Rice was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Francis Rice made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Lennie Harper in the 97th minute of play. When the referee ended the match the Nantwich players were able to celebrate. They had won a fair victory and recieved the ovations of their fans.