Keyworth United 0 Aslockton
Cranmers 1
Keyworth Run Out of Steam
This was a game
too far for Keyworth! After a tough match in the mud last
week, missing several key players, with four others
recovering from illness and three fresh (or rather not!)
from sleepovers the previous night, a below par Keyworth
were no match for a lively Aslockton whose one goal victory
failed to fully emphasise their superiority on the day.
Aslockton were up and at the Greens from the start. Playing
crisp, incisive, passing football, at pace, Aslockton were
troubling Keyworth and only Sam’s command of his area and
some fine saves were keeping them at bay. At the other end,
Keyworth offered little apart from a couple of efforts from
Danny which drifted wide. Twenty minutes in, Keyworth were
indebted to a moment of brilliance from Peter Hennessy to
keep the scores level. A fine move by the visitors ended
with a low drive which beat Sam and looked destined for the
bottom right hand corner only for Peter to appear out of
nowhere to produce a miraculous goal-line clearance worthy
of a bigger stage. Straight from the clearance, Keyworth
could have taken the lead. A long punt forward set up a
chase between Josh and the visiting keeper which the
Keyworth forward narrowly won. With defenders closing fast,
Josh rushed his shot and sliced wide of the unguarded net
from 20 yards.
Keyworth though were happy to reach the break all square
and with the slope in their favour, fancied their chances
for the second period. Immediately on restart, it was clear
they were deluding themselves as Cranmers tore into the
Greens and were giving the Keyworth defence a torrid time.
Attacking with increasing intensity, Aslockton were
threatening to tear us apart. We were missing Douglas and
Jacob - big time!
On the rare occasion Keyworth attacked, they were making it
easy for the Cranmers defence, going straight down the
middle and running straight into the packed Aslockton
ranks. We were using a sledgehammer to crack a nut and
unsurprisingly getting nowhere! As if to emphasise the
point, on the one occasion that Keyworth used any width,
they should have taken the lead. Wonderful work by Danny
saw him dance clear of the defence and fly down the right
wing before hitting a tremendous cross beyond the keeper to
an unmarked Josh no more than two feet out with goal
gaping. Unable to believe his luck, Josh thrust his leg at
the ball, got too good a contact and somehow managed to
crash the ball across the face of goal and wide. Oh for a
miss-hit or a shinner!
That chance failed to provide the spark for Keyworth and
the game reverted to type with the visitors dominating once
again. Within minutes it looked like their pressure had
finally paid off when another Aslockton shot was once again
hacked off the line by the outstanding Peter Hennessy.
Keyworth’s relief was short-lived however. With three
minutes remaining, Aslockton got away down the right and
fired in a firm shot which Sam did well to parry. With
Keyworth defenders flat-footed and slow to react, a
Cranmers forward picked up the loose ball and calmly lobbed
over Sam and the defenders on the line to give the visitors
the lead. “Don’t give up lads” I urged, more out of hope
than expectation, but it had little effect as Aslockton
easily made it through to the final whistle to claim a
fully deserved victory.
It’s always a pleasure to play Aslockton. Credit to Adam,
Gareth and their team for a superb performance, as always,
played in the right spirit. Despite the fact that this was
our worst display so far, I don’t remember a game this
season in which we’ve been so overwhelmed. The excellent
Sam and Peter Hennessy apart, we looked tired, leggy and
always a yard off the pace.
On this performance the Christmas break can’t come soon
enough to revitalise the team - first though we have to
avoid getting the Brigford Blues at Loughborough Road next
Sunday - see you there!
