League

Croston Park
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) Croston's Charles Barber 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. Croston's Charles Barber got a good chance for a goal in the 7th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Jon Bull showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Steve Barnes, who was totally free with the ball in the 11th minute. In the 13th minute Steve Barnes shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Jon Bull saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. When Bryan Locke fell near the penalty area in the 15th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Annscroft City's protests and gave Bryan Locke a yellow card for diving instead. In the 15th match minute, Annscroft City was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Bryan Locke to maneuver through the defense. Charles Barber sent away a hard shot on goal in the 22nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Ben Boyd took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Charles Barber, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. If Cliff Robson had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 26th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Jon Bull showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Cliff Robson in the 28th minute of the match. 32 minutes into the match, Junior Ennis dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Ben Boyd, 2-0. After having played for 39 minutes, Charles Barber managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Croston's supporters crossed their fingers, but Charles Barber was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Junior Ennis struck a weak shot in the 40th minute. Ben Boyd didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Croston. In the 47th minute, Croston's Charles Barber ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Ben Boyd. Ben Boyd yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 3-0. The away team players looked dejected as the walked off the pitch at half time. They had fought hard, but were still losing 3-0.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Cliff Robson to make the kick off. Charles Barber fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 54th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ben Boyd having to interfere. Junior Ennis fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 61st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ben Boyd having to interfere. When Junior Ennis came up free with the goalie in the 63rd minute, the Croston 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 Junior Ennis couldn't finish the play. Charles Barber received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 65th minute. Ben Boyd tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The Croston fans' excitement grew in the 67th match minute when Croston's Junior Ennis looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 4-0 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. 70 minutes into the game, Charles Barber cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 5-0. Ben Boyd was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. After 84 minutes, Eric Blueman mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Croston and the Annscroft City players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 85th minute, Eric Blueman hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Cliff Robson fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 88th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Jon Bull having to interfere. Jon Bull took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Cliff Robson, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Ben Boyd made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Charles Barber in the 97th minute of play. Croston were really happy, having secured the victory after a very even contest. They thanked the players of Annscroft City for a fine match.