Men's 2nd XI Vs Belper 5

Match Report from SNHC 2s vs Belper 5s Away. Brian Blackmore reporting. 

Well the mix and match throw a team together tipped up at the slightly damp….water receded pitch in belper…. Mud slide maybe more appropriate and pitch on stilts maybe better. Stand in Captain batty issued the orders but unfortunately the team didn’t read the script and within 10 minutes were 2 down and backs against the wall….. in blink of an eye 2 became 3…. Our midfield did their best with Steve at the helm with the youngsters of the clough siblings slow to start but eventually trying to get amongst a well drilled and up for it belper 4’s and the omens were looking ominous as by half time it seemed game over. 

Batty rallied the troops and there seemed more fight and spirit before we knew it 3 became 4….. heads could have dropped…. but no chance a typical south resolve saw a shift in the game ironically as batty decided it was too much for his hamstring and Finn deciding the offer of a fireman’s lift was far more appealing, although it looked more like a stannah stairlift from the resident fireman to the edge of the pitch greeted by the broken batty crane lifting and dropping Finn into a white chair….. the game changed and now belper were on the back foot…. Few missed swings from Alex and Mike running out of pitch before Dan struck and then again a few mins later, making it 4-2….. south applied the pressure and had gilt edged opportunities to make it 3 and 4 and a draw would have been an amazing result….even with my own dying fly impression that still kept them at bay….. unfortunately the final whistle and game finished 4-2 to belper 

A lot to take on board and learn from but a good performance none the less!