League

Croughton
Spectators: 6730 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1730, VIP seats: 0) In the 5th minute Ged Bostock shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Conal Marenghi saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Ralf Small sent away a hard shot on goal in the 7th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Rex Akins recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 9th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. After a rather tough play, Newcastle-under-Lyme's Damon Bryant got a free kick in the 11th minute. In the 14th minute, Ged Bostock left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Newcastle-under-Lyme fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. In the 19th match minute, Croughton was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Bob Beadel to maneuver through the defense. If Caleb Woodcock had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 20th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Caleb Woodcock scored 0-2 in the 22nd match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Conal Marenghi, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. If Rex Akins had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 25th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After a rather tough play, Newcastle-under-Lyme's Sean Jones got a free kick in the 29th minute. After some fancy dribbling in the 30th minute, Ralf Small managed to get in a good position for a shot. Croughton's supporters rose to their feet, but Ralf Small was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Denis Grantham breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Rex Akins fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 32nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Denis Grantham having to interfere. Conal Marenghi didn't succeed to prevent the ball from going into goal when Newcastle-under-Lyme's Caleb Woodcock shot an unexpected shot in the crossbar's under edge and made 0-3 in the ordered_time% minute. In the 38th match minute, Newcastle-under-Lyme was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Sean Jones to maneuver through the defense. Conal Marenghi made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Caleb Woodcock in the 42nd minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in Newcastle-under-Lyme's zone, Ralf Small stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Denis Grantham came out of the goal and Ralf Small tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Ralf Small could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 47th minute of the match, but Denis Grantham made a huge save. Ged Bostock recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 48th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-3 lead.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Rex Akins was the one to do the kick off. Sean Jones hit a great freekick 52 minutes into the match. In the 59th minute, Ronnie Pilgrim reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Conal Marenghi. The goal made the score 0-4. After 61 played minutes Newcastle-under-Lyme got a freekick which was hit by Sean Jones. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ralf Small in the 63rd minute of play forced Newcastle-under-Lyme's goalkeeper Denis Grantham to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 64th minute Ralf Small shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Denis Grantham saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Ralf Small received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 65th minute. Denis Grantham tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Conal Marenghi was a little too slow when Caleb Woodcock got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 67th minute. The score was now 0-5. An unexpectedly hard shot by Caleb Woodcock in the 70th minute of play forced Croughton's goalkeeper Conal Marenghi to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 78th minute Caleb Woodcock shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Conal Marenghi saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 87 minutes into the match, Croughton's goalkeeper Conal Marenghi had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Ged Bostock. Newcastle-under-Lyme played a much better game than Croughton and deserved their victory. The Croughton players were clearly disappointed as they left the ground.