Men's 4th XI Vs Derwent 4

Following a pleasant drive through the meandering lanes of the Peak District, South Nottm arrived in good spirits and in good time for Push-Back, in the historic, and quintessentially Derbyshire town of Wirksworth, replete with imposing stone buildings and an intricate network of narrow lanes and alleys, at the end of one of which was the rather less imposing Leisure Centre, which had all the architectural appeal of ….. a modern local authority leisure centre!

There was glorious autumnal sunshine, with just a hint of seasonal chill in the air. South Nottm’s Captain Tony Ellis broke the news to the “elder statesmen “ in the team that there was no “bench” of substitutes available, so any thoughts of a few minutes R&R during the game were quickly banished.

South Nottm lined up in usual 4-4-2 formation, with a back 4 of a combined age approaching 200, including Tom Cross, under strict instructions that beyond the half-way line was No-Go Territory.

South Nottm’ dynamic midfield was a blend of youth and experience, and its experienced strike force of Stan Jackson and Ken Shapland were dispatched to strike awe into the hearts of the younger Derwent defence.

Derwent threw everything they had at South Nottm for the first 20 minutes or so, but South Nottm held capably firm.  Derwent took the lead at the end of the first half with a very well-taken goal so positivity was the watchword at half time.  0-1 to Derwent

The second half began in much the same vein as the first, although the ubiquitous and efficient South Nottm defence began to tire under the unrelenting pressure. Derwent scored another to make it 2-0 to Derwent

By now tired legs were seen out there. South Nottm began to lose some of the cohesion that had been so effective in the first half. This led to third and fourth goals by Derwent from open play to make the final score 4-0 to Derwent. The closely-fought game was in fact much more even than the score-line suggests. It was an excellent run-out for everyone at the start of the season.