Keyworth United 0 Cotgrave Colts 4

Things can only get better!

This was the lowest of the low for Keyworth, whose recent dismal run continued with a dire performance against a hungry Cotgrave outfit who progressed to the quarter finals with a fully deserved victory which was every bit as comprehensive as the scoreline suggests. This was unfamiliar territory for the Greens - a Saturday afternoon kick off, played on the undulating fields of Keyworth Recreation Ground, complete with it’s delightful traditional pre-match ritual involving shovel and bucket as essential props! The Theatre of Dreams it wasn’t - in fact, Theatre of Nightmares would have been nearer the mark!

With a place in the last eight of the county-wide competition at stake, tension filled the air for this important local derby. We had to guard against the boys being overcome by the thrill of it all! Judging by what happened next we clearly failed! Straight from kick off it was clear we were out of sorts as Cotgrave set up camp in our half. Playing some delightful, fast flowing football, Cotgrave were overwhelming us and after hitting the post on two minutes, took a deserved lead eight minutes later when a forward was given time aplenty to bury the ball past Harry, our stand in keeper.

Harry then did his best to keep Keyworth in it with a number of saves to keep the marauding Cotgrave forwards at bay, but despite Keyworth going close through Danny’s free kick and Marek’s subsequent drive against the post, the Cotgrave bombardment was so intense and sustained that the Green defences surely had to buckle under the pressure. Sure enough, just as it seemed we might have done enough to make it through to half time just a goal in arrears, we pressed the self destruct button. Cotgrave yet again found space behind the Keyworth defence and with the home defence magnetically drawn to the flank, the ball was transferred into the box, leaving Harry stranded as one of three unmarked Cotgrave forwards tapped the ball into the net. Somehow we managed to scramble through to half time without further concession. At the end of a woeful first half, it was clear we needed more than this if we were to get anything from the game.

For the first ten minutes of the second half, inspired by Cian and Ben - who, along with Harry, were clearly Keyworth’s best players by a distance - we suggested we might make a game of it after all, but for all our huffing and puffing and territorial dominance, we never really threatened, opting to take the ball that extra yard in preference to shooting when the opportunity arose. On the sideline there was even talk of us winning it in normal time - oh yeah?! Cotgrave soon put a stop to those silly ideas. Poor communication in the home defence resulted in a sliced clearance rebounding to a Cotgrave forward in one of those “can’t miss” positions in front of goal, just three yards out. He didn’t and we were dead and buried.

Immediately it was back to the same old scene with Cotgrave once again attacking in waves and, driving forward like a hurricane. It was now just a question of how many they would get. They quickly added a fourth when the home defence once again watched as the ball was slipped between defenders for an ecstatic Cotgrave winger to dance away past the last man and stylishly curl the ball into the top corner. Right on the whistle it looked like Cotgrave had made it five but Harry produced a dramatic goal line save to spare any Keyworth blushes that remained.

Congratulations to Cotgrave on an excellent display. I’m not a jealous guy, so readily acknowledge that we were completely outfought, outplayed and outclassed by a much better side on the day. We wish Cotgrave well for the rest of the competition. As for Keyworth, it’s hard to know where to start. On this performance, by far our worst of the season, there are so many areas requiring attention that I’d need my own manifesto to address them all, and with runaway leaders, Forest Town, up next we don’t have time for that! Fortunately, I know this was just a blip and we’re much better than we showed in today’s debacle.

All the best sides are judged by how they react to adversity …so boy do we need a reaction next week! It’s time to get out of the rut we’re currently in, starting next Sunday with a much improved performance against the table-toppers from Mansfield!