On a bitterly cold day, with snow alongside the
top touchline to remind us that spring still has not truly arrived,
Junior Blues comfortably overcame a stubborn
Caverswall side. Earlier in the season, Blues
won the corresponding home fixture with ease, but on Sunday they were
made to work for the points.
Although not achieving the levels of recent games,
they were nonetheless too good for Bulldogs, and once again, Jim Brunt
in the Leek goal, didn't have a shot
to make all game.
Twice, before Blues
eventually took the lead, Gareth Allott
was denied by excellent saves, after running on to through balls from
James Brough and Matt Anderson. But it was a case of third time lucky
on eleven minutes, when he tucked away another through ball from Matt
Anderson to open the scoring.
Hopes of more goals diminished as the half went
on, as Blues failed to come to terms
with Caverswall's offside trap, which was only penetrated once more
in the first period, and yet again, Gareth Allott was thwarted by
a fine save by the keeper.
H/T: - Caverswall 0-1 Blues
For most of the second half too, Blues
frustratingly failed to beat the offside trap, and it was not until
midway through the half, that a second goal fortuitously arrived.
Jonna Goodier lofted the ball into the Caverswall area, but the keeper
misread the flight of the ball and it fell to Matt
Anderson who scored with ease.
This gave Blues
the breathing space they needed, and they applied pressure mercilessly.
Their effort was rewarded with two more goals near the end. The first
was the best of the match, as a delicate touch from Sam Hall put Matt
Anderson free, and his superb pass found Tom
Bourne with time and space to fire home number three.
With four minutes left on the watch, Tom Bourne
and Matt Anderson were involved again for the fourth goal. Tom Bourne's
shot was well saved, but the keeper was unable to hold on to it, and
Matt Anderson put it away to
give the scoreline some respectability.
Blues were never
at their best in this game, and in the congested midfield battle,
they were unusually guilty of giving the ball away too often. This
combined with the incessant Caverswall offside trap, resulted in it
being a dire match for the spectators.
Our thanks go to PROTECH
ELECTRICALS and THE BRITANNIA BUILDING SOCIETY for their invaluable
sponsorship.