Under 11's 0 Greasley Miners Welfare 4

Plucky Keyworth go down fighting

I woke up laughing on Sunday morning, happy and excited at the prospect of pitching our talents against one of the best teams in the league and anticipating a feast of fine football from two teams who like to play the game properly.

In the end, I finished up disappointed, not by the game which was everything I’d expected and provided tremendous entertainment for those lucky enough to witness it. No, my disappointment was confined to the result which more than flattered Greasley and failed to reflect Keyworth’s magnificent display in a game that they controlled for large periods. 

Some guys have all the luck don’t they? I’m not usually one to bemoan ill fortune as an excuse for defeat as I think these things generally even themselves out over a season, but on this occasion there’s no doubting that the team in blue had the rub of the green! Not that they needed it! Greasley are a superb footballing outfit who are sharp, well organised and will destroy most sides they meet.In short, a class act! So to more than match them and yet leave with nothing for our efforts was hugely disappointing.

Quite simply, the Keyworth boys were magnificent and deserved so much better.

Kicking up the slope, Keyworth started brightly and taking the game to Greasley, thought they’d taken an early lead when Danny Hardy collected the ball in midfield, skipped around several tackles and clipped the ball over the keeper into the net. A linesman’s flag curtailed the home fans jubilation, which was tough on Keyworth as having run through on his own, it was difficult to see how Danny or any other player could be offside.

Undeterred, Keyworth continued to hold the upper hand and were playing some superb football. Solid in defence, with Luke Crisp playing the game of his life; driven on in midfield by inspirational performances from Jacob, Cian and Danny and with Josh and Lewis looking lively up front, the Greens were simply irresistible and came closest to breaking the deadlock when Jacob’s low shot skimmed inches wide. Amazingly, with five minutes of the half remaining, Greasley had yet to seriously trouble the Keyworth defence, but then…disaster!

A harmless looking punt into the home box was fumbled by Sam in the Keyworth goal and with two forwards quickly pouncing, all three, plus ball, ended up in the net for a goal that the Greasley manager later suggested he wouldn’t have given - in fairness, it looked perfectly good to me! When, minutes later, another superb Keyworth move ended with Josh blazing over a gaping goal from five yards, you got the feeling it was going to be one of those days. Sure enough, in the seventh minute of first half stoppage time, Keyworth conceded another when a cross wasn’t effectively dealt with and, despite Peter Hennessy’s heroics, the ball was scrambled home for a scrappy second.

Two down at the break despite having the better of the first half, the Greens still fancied their chances attacking down the slope in the second period but got off to the worst possible start when a mix up between goalkeeper and defenders allowed an alert Greasley forward to lob a delightful finish over a stranded Sam. This was a killer blow, but to their credit Keyworth continued to create opportunities. Reece, having an excellent game, showed great vision in setting up chances for Danny and Lewis, 
before Lewis again went close following good work by Ben and Danny.

Finally, Keyworth thought they’d clawed their way back into it when a fierce shot hit a defender in the face and fell to Jacob who blasted into the top corner. Once again though Keyworth’s joy was shortlived as the whistle had sounded and play was brought back to attend to the poleaxed defender’s facial wound. It clearly wasn’t Keyworth’s day - a fact underlined when, with minutes remaining, Greasley added a fourth with a superb looping drive from distance. It only remained for Sam to make a splendid save before the final whistle brought down the curtain on a pulsating match.

Although defeated, Keyworth can take great pride in their outstanding performance - a fact acknowledged by the gracious Greasley manager. This was the sort of game you can get addicted to. Love it or loathe it, incident and uncertainty are what make football such a great game and today we had plenty of both - unfortunately things just didn’t go our way. On another day we would have taken something from this game - as it is, I’m left scratching my head looking for clues as to why we didn’t! One thing is certain however, play like that week in, week out and we’re guaranteed to do well.

We know by now that you can’t get enough of a good thing, so we’ll look to continue where we left off when we visit Calverton next week.

If it’s entertainment you’re after, we’ll see you there!