Men's 2nd XI Vs Boots 4th XI

It had been a long time coming, but the new look South Notts 2’s were delighted to be back at The Banks, welcoming local rivals Boots for their first game there since the 19/20 season was cut short in March.

Both teams started slowly and chances were hard to come by. It’d be fair to say Boots shaded the first half with their strong centre mid regularly winning the ball but they struggled to get past the solid wall of Andy Wallace and Will Brydon at the heart of the South backline and on the rare occasion they did, Mark Doney was equal to anything they could throw at him. South had the first big chance with Mike Shapland turning away from a defender to go through 1 on 1. However just as he started to take it round the keeper, the defender shoved him into the onrushing gk to send him sprawling. It could’ve been a nasty injury and to say Shapland was further incensed that the professional foul was rewarded with nothing more than a free hit would be an understatement! At risk of heading into the break 0-0 the game had come alive and Boots managed to pull off a very nice 1-2 in the D to draw Doney and the free man slotted into an open net to open the scoring. Not to be outdone, South went up the other end, won a short and it was slipped to skipper Jon Lane who neatly slotted home.

1-1 at the break was a fair score although if Boots had had the edge in the first period that was certainly not the case for the second as South dominated. Ably supported by overlapping fullbacks, particularly Stevie Powell on the left who even got off some shots in the Boots D on occasion, the South midfield began to run the show with Ben Walker at the base playing somewhat of a quarterback role. He regularly evaded the press to step up and release the ball to Nathan Gerrard or Henry Gilroy-Davis ahead, or to the wings as well as providing a reliable pivot. Despite the visiting keeper making some very smart saves, South finally took the lead. One such save came out at headheight to a waiting Stevie Waters who, with a calmness belying his Scottish heritage, hit a beautifully controlled volley into the net when the ball could easily have ended up bouncing along the roof behind the goal. It wasn’t long after that South wrapped up the win with Shapland getting behind the defence and pulling the ball back to strike partner Ian Lane to slot in.

3-1 was an excellent result against a strong rival but as satisfying as the win was, the greater satisfaction was the play of the youngsters: Finn and Rhys Collins, Arthur and Henry Gilroy-Davis and Sam Clough all had blinders and their decision making, always the hardest part of the game to develop is coming along beautifully