League Play-Off

Chreedcourt
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Eddy Lawson got the match started through his kick off. Tommy Sykes scored 0-1 in the 2nd match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Nicky Payne, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. After 11 minutes of play, Stroud's Verne Hylton made it 1-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Stevie Walters was left in no man's land by his defense there! After having played for 22 minutes, Eddy Lawson managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Stroud's supporters crossed their fingers, but Eddy Lawson was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Verne Hylton could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 24th minute of the match, but Stevie Walters made a huge save. If Eddy Lawson had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 26th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Stevie Walters made an important save on a dangerous shot by Verne Hylton in the 29th minute. Carl Boulton's late challenge caught a Stroud's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Carl Boulton helped the player get up and apologised. Carl Boulton hit a great freekick 30 minutes into the match. Verne Hylton received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 31st minute. Stevie Walters tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Verne Hylton's late challenge caught a Thurmaston FC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Verne Hylton helped the player get up and apologised. Verne Hylton hit a great freekick 31 minutes into the match. Bryan Sawyer fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 34th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Nicky Payne having to interfere. Lewis Welsh hit a great freekick 35 minutes into the match. Bryan Sawyer received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 39th minute. Nicky Payne tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After some fancy dribbling in the 47th minute, Bryan Sawyer managed to get in a good position for a shot. Thurmaston FC's supporters rose to their feet, but Bryan Sawyer was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Nicky Payne breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. After fighting hard for a draw in the first half, the players were able to take a much needed rest.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Tommy Sykes stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Stevie Walters showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Verne Hylton, who was totally free with the ball in the 56th minute. Stroud's Eddy Lawson got a good chance for a goal in the 61st minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Bryan Sawyer could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 68th minute of the match, but Nicky Payne made a huge save. Kasey Winstanley's late challenge caught a Thurmaston FC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Kasey Winstanley helped the player get up and apologised. The supporters of Thurmaston FC booed when Stroud was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 68 match minutes in a wonderful position. Kasey Winstanley didn't get a good kick on the ball. 70 minutes into the match, Stroud's goalkeeper Nicky Payne had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Bryan Sawyer. In the 74th minute, Tommy Sykes 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. If Tommy Sykes had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 76th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. If Tommy Sykes had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 78th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Lewis Welsh received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 92nd minute. Stevie Walters tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Nicky Payne made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Tommy Sykes in the 96th minute of play. After 96 played minutes Stroud got a freekick which was hit by Kasey Winstanley. The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The Stroud fans cheered their team off the field, for while Thurmaston FC had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.