Men's 3rd XI Vs Chesterfield 4

**MATCH REPORT**

CHESTERFIELD 4’s Vs SOUTH NOTTS 3’s

The mighty 3’s arrived at a bright sunny yet cold Chesterfield off the back of last weeks 4-1 win away at Buxton, were looking to build on recent impressive performances and were wanting to show the difference from the reverse fixture earlier in the season which had resulted in an 0-8 loss!

The game started off well, South choosing to defend facing the low winter sun, with Chesterfield banging on the door from the off. However the center midfield duo of Andy and Henry along with back four of (right to left) Arthur, Knappet, Duffy, Graham and with Simon in goal, South managed to keep the Chesterfield attackers at bay, with Simon pulling off a string of fantastic saves.

South were able to create the odd chances on the counter attack, through the aforementioned midfield duo and the relentless running on the wings by Hamza and Sam. Were it not for a mirrored performance in goal by the chesterfield keeper, South could have been ahead through either Ken or Paul.

Midway through the half though South were dealt a massive blow when Sam took a wayward reverse pass directly to the face whilst assisting on defensive duties. And after a brief stoppage in play, with no action taken against the Chesterfield player and for some first aid to be administered from team doctor James F, Sam was off to hospital to get seen to (thanks to Tony for taking him and get well soon Sam).

Not long after this, south found themselves a goal down after a superbly played pass managed to elude both Knappet and Duffy leaving the chesterfield attacker one on one to calmly slot the ball home and take the lead.

With Chesterfield continuing to press after going one up, a succession of dubious short corners kept the South defenders working hard to keep them at bay, with Simon continuing to pull off save after save to keep the score to just one at the break!

HT Chesterfield 4’s 1-0 South 3’s
With everyone putting in a shift South went into the second half with renewed belief and now had the sun on their backs!

However it was Chesterfield who started the second half stronger, again forcing the defence into action, but were it not for Simon rolling back the years and producing the performance of the game in goal, South could have been down by more.

With time ticking on South then came to life and began to press the tiring and frustrated opponents. Chances then began to flow for South, as they created more and more.

Then an unplanned change in formation saw South revert to 3 at the back, with Duffy pushing into midfield as South continued to push for an equaliser. And with time edging away with South deep in the opposition half a superb ball from Andy found Hamza streaking away on the left wing, then cutting back inside and attempting to fire a ball into the D managed to draw a free hit after it struck the Chesterfield defender on the foot.

With the Chesterfield defence still trying to reorganise, some quick thinking and fantastic control by Hamza, who stick handled around three defenders and passed the ball to Duffy who managed to turn his defender. But a scuffed shot which not only wrong footed the Chesterfield keeper, it also eluded Paul who was mere inches away from putting the ball past the sprawling keeper and getting the equaliser that South deserved!
Alas it was not to be and the final whistle blew a few seconds later!

FT Chesterfield 4’s 1 - 0 South 3’s

An enthralling encounter, with everyone giving their all, may have ended in a loss for the threes but there are a lot of positives to be taken from the game!

MotM - Simon
DotD - Duffy - Don’t leave your stick at home next time

Next game:
Sunday 19th January 2020
Nottingham Trent Uni 2’s Vs South Notts 3’s