Dunkirk Colts 1 Hucknall Sports White 3

30/01/10
Saturday U11's Division 2
Dunkirk Colts 1 Hucknall Sports White 3

Sports happy to be back
As of Friday evening this match did not have a pitch to play on, but thanks to Sports Match Controller Derek Day the game was able to be reversed from an away fixture at Clifton Bridge to Wigwam Lane, local parent Greg Davies was drafted in as a last minute referee and after a morning pitch inspection and 8 weeks after they last played, Hucknall Sports Whites finally got back league football with a match against Dunkirk Colts.

Whites were slow into their stride and looked extremely rusty whilst a bumpy pitch made controlling the ball difficult. Sports confidence ebbed away as the mistakes continued and Dunkirk looked to take advantage but thankfully Kal Orton in the Hucknall goal was alert to any dangers and protected his goal well. Hucknall managed to find a way forward at last and forced a number of corners but a particularly heavy ball made it difficult to find the penalty spot from the resultant crosses.
Finally, Sports got their act together and a great run and cross from James Hallam set up Jacob Barlow for Sports first goal.

Half time: Dunkirk 0 Hucknall Sports Whites 1

Substitute Ryan Towle was introduced for the second half and immediately effected Whites performance with some great wing play and crosses. But it took a James Hallam goal, from a Towle cross, for Whites to finally settle and start to play like the top-of-the-table side that they are. Within moments Hallam had made it three for Hucknall with another goal created by clever wing-play. Further substitutions were made with Kieran Wilson, Will Brown, Josh Hart and Tyler Johnstone getting a chance to show what they could do. Hucknall's confidence returned as they finally found their rhythm and spread the ball around with style.
Dunkirk scored a goal that their endeavour deserved when they capitalised on a mis-hit goal kick to score high into the top corner. But the game was all but over and the final whistled blew to signal a winning start to the New Year for Sports.

Final score: Dunkirk 1 Hucknall Sports Whites 3

Man of the Match candidates for this game included James Hallam for a great exhibition of leading the front line, Kal Orton for great goalkeeping and Jarrod Davies for a versatile display that saw him start as a midfielder and end as a centre-back.
However, the eventual winner was Mitch Davies for a wonderful performance in midfield both for driving the team forward and helping in defence - a tireless exhibition of never-say-die football.

Winning 'ugly' when not playing well is the best way to summarise this game, but Sports remain unbeaten in the league and credit to the boys for keeping that run going.