Again struggling for numbers Saints were further setback when only nine players were on the pitch for kick off. Shortly after the start Ed appeared to give us ten but we were always a man down for the remainder of the match. Things looked to be going from bad to worse when City took the lead midway through the half when an uncharacteristic fumble from Nathan allowed a flick on to drop through his hands and into the net. Unusually though this had a positive effect on our young 'keeper who then proceeded to put in one of his best performances of the season claiming all further crosses and shots with confidence and pulling out a couple of match saving saves later in the game.
Despite going behind it was clear that if we could counter City's direct style we were the better footballing side and with patience chances would - and did - come our way. An awful surface didn't help but we did try and pass the ball forward quickly and quite often we did create good space only to fail with the final ball or miss our shots. Scott had a great chance to equalise but pulled the ball just wide, while Jack had two great opportunities to score but on both occasions his shots were hit too heavily and flew over. Eventually though we did equalise when a fantastic free kick by Chris caused mass confusion in the City defence and when the ball fell from the scrambling 'keepers grasp Scott was on hand to toe poke home.
In the second half we continued to pursue the match. Ed posed a threat up front and twice Alex broke through but was unable to get a clean shot off. City also broke a couple of times but our defence was superb and rarely allowed them to get shots off and when they did Nathan was in unbeatable form. Midway through the half the outstanding Alex O ran clear from midfield and drew a fine save from the City 'keeper with a powerful shot but the rebound fell nicely to the on rushing Jack who fired home for the winner. As you would expect we "locked the door" a little after this and were able to see the match out with some fabulous defensive work from the whole team.
This was a good team performance (if not the best footballing performance!) and a fine result. The boys showed great character and put in some real hard work today and got their due reward with the win. Nathan played well as did the whole back four with George absolutely awesome in the second half. Alex Oldland had an excellent game in midfield full of energy & commitment but the star man for me was Scott who must have covered every blade of grass today and scored a valuable goal in the process. Well done to all the boys today though who all played a part in the victory.
Man of the Match - Scott Gotham
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