Pitching In Northern Premier League Midland Division
ST NEOTS TOWN 2 LONG EATON 3
Another league defeat for St Neots in a match that had everything including three red cards, six unrelated cautions and five goals. The visitors’ making their first visit to St Neots since 1959, will have been delighted to have returned home with the points after playing the final 24 minutes with nine men. It was a lively encounter as the statistics suggest but St Neots should have taken a more significant opportunity when playing ten men against nine in the final half hour. After a lively first 45 minutes in which the visitors just had the edge and a single goal advantage, there was an incident as the players left the field resulting in red cards for Murphy Culkin (St Neots) and Gianluca Bucci (Long Eaton). St Neots had made three team changes from the side beaten in midweek at Shepshed, with Kieran Barnes and Harvey Henderson not available, and Rhys Thorpe not fully fit so into the side came Aaron Smith, Murphy Culkin and Andrian Ankrah. St Neots lined up in a 3-5-2 formation with wide men Harvey Williams and Connor Furlong playing as emergency strikers. It was a first home game for recently appointed Assistant Manager Chris Nunn.
It was a feisty contest from the start with both sides committed to attacking play. Connor Furlong had the first chance but saw his fierce shot blocked and at the other end Connor Pace suffered the same fate. James Goff then twice had to leave his line to clear and when the visitors appealed for a penalty as striker Evan Garnett fell in the area, he was booked by the Referee for feigning the challenge. Then after 16 minutes the visitors went ahead as Tristan Thompson-Matthews crossed from the right and defender Own Betts arrived late to beat the home keeper.The lively Michael Amaeshike then saw a header to a Furlong cross well saved and Murphy Culkin playing in midfield saw his effort pushed away at full stretch by the visiting keeper. Jahvan Davidson-Miller then shot wide for Long Earon when well placed, but after 33 minutes the visitors increased their lead as Davidson-Miller crossed to the near post and as he attempted under pressure to clear Charlie Bowen only succeeded in diverting the ball into his own net. St Neots hit back three minutes later when Furlong picked out a run by Michael Amaeshike and he rounded Lewis King to net from a narrow angle to put St Neots back in contention.
After the interval the teams returned ten-a-side to resume an end-to-end contest. Both made substitutions to reshape their line-up, and the visitors began cautiously happy to play keep ball without really seriously threatening the home goal. Amaeshike shot over the bar for St Neots and the visitors then produced a quick break setting up Thompson-Matthews who forced an important save from James Goff at the expense of a corner. The lively Harvey Williams saw a net bound effort deflected for a corner and then after 61 minutes the visitors created what was to prove to be the most significant goal of the match. It came as Thompson-Matthews won the ball on the left and picked out Jahvan Davidson-Miller to net from close range. Five minutes later substitute James Hanson brought down Amaeshike in full flight on the edge of the area and became the second visiting player to see red to reduce the visitors to nine men. Eight minutes later St Neots lively substitute Jessi Obeng pulled a goal back with a crisp finish that took a wicked defection off the unlucky Coterill but that was as good as it got for St Neots who dominated play in the final quarter of an hour but were unable to break through the packed visiting defence.
Today’s Saints Supporters’ Man of the Match in association with The Greystones Public House Sawtry – Mike Amaeshike
St Neots Town: Goff, Willis, Culkin, Parker, Smith, Bowen, Furlong, Tavernier, Amaeshike, Ankrah, Williams
Subs: Thorpe (for Ankrah 46 mins), Obeng (for Williams 61 mins), Francis, Jessop, and Forster.
Cards: Culkin (RED – 45 mins), Parker (Y – 90+4 mins), Bowen (Y – 90+4 mins)
Goals: Amaeshike (36 mins), Obeng (74 mins)
Long Eaton United: King, Betts, Finnerty,Keane, Cotterill, Bucci, Thompson-Matthews, Duncan, Gamett, Pace, Davidson-Miller
Subs: Hanson (for Finnerty 46 mins), Taylor (for Betts 61 mins), Atwal (for Duncan 75 mins), and Shaw.
Cards: Bucci (RED – 45 mins), Hanson (RED – 66 mins), Garnett (Y – 14 mins), Thompson-Matthews (Y – 48 mins), Keane (Y – 88 mins), Taylor (Y – 90+3 mins)
Goals: Betts (16 mins), Bowen OG (33 mins), Davidson-Miller (61 mins)
Attendance: 241
Referee: Christopher Darling (Newmarket, Suffolk)
(John Walker)