New Marske 9 - Mount Pleasant 0
After three defeats in a row it was time to hopefully get back to winning ways, and as usual we had a strongish wind blowing to know doubt give us a game of two halves yet again. The game kicked off with Greg missing from the defence as we kicked with the wind at our backs.
After two minutes we had our first dangerous break as Frank got away down the left and put a great ball into the centre to the waiting Joe who looked as if he was going to put the ball into the empty net, that was until a defender came in with an excellent challenge to knock the ball out for a corner.
We didn't have to wait for too long for the first goal, in fact 8 minutes, when a Mount Pleasant corner was cleared to Joe, who hit the ball over the opposition defence into the path of Frank who raced clear and placed the ball past the keeper. 1-0 to New Marske.
Liam, Danny and Frank all had good chances to extend our lead, but they couldn't quite make the break through. Mount Palest were battling hard but we continued to carve out chances with Joe feeding the ball to Liam who wrapped his foot around the ball but only managed to put the ball into the keepers arms.
Another nice move from Liam to play Frank in saw the ball go narrowly past the post. It seemed like we we never going to get the second goal, but that all changed on 21 minutes when Liam picked the ball up in midfield. Joe and Frank raced forward looking for the through ball, but Liam had other ideas and instead went for goal hammering the ball up and over the keeper and into the net just inside the far post. 2-0 to New Marske.
Four minutes later Liam scored again when after a bit of battling to win the ball, Frank pushed it out wide left for Liam to run onto and confidently smash the ball past the keeper. 3-0 to New Marske. We were keeping the pressure on Mount Pleasant trying to hammer home the advantage of the wind, and the second of two successive corners saw us score again. The ball was bent into the danger area where the opposition struggled to clear it, as Andy Fowler got his head on the ball from about a yard out to nod it past the keeper. 4-0 to New Marske.
On 30 minutes we scored again when we were awarded a free kick on the left about 25 yards out. Danny lined it up and hit it beautifully as it seemed to speed up as it travelled through the air, beating the outstretched arm of the keeper. 5-0 to New Marske. It didn't get any better for the shell-shocked opposition when we scored again a minute later. The ball was cleared out of the Mount Pleasant defence only for Frank to hit a shot from just outside the box, which the keeper looked to have covered. Unfortunately for him it somehow managed to squirm under his body and into the net. 6-0 to New Marske.
Joe went close to scoring again but the defence and keeper managed to get the ball clear, but on 37 minutes he did get another goal. Frank raced away one on one with the keeper, as the keeper came out on top. He was alert enough to regain possession and slid a ball across to Joe who tapped it into the empty net. 7-0 to New Marske.
Right on half time a Mount Pleasant player injured himself while taking a shot, as the game was held up for two minutes while he received treatment. He unfortunately couldn't recover and had to be carried from the field as the referee took the opportunity to blow for half time.
Half-time: New Marske 7 - Mount Pleasant 0
The second half saw Mount Pleasant kicking with the wind at their backs, and we were expecting a lot more pressure on us in the second half.
Mount Pleasant got an early chance for a shot at goal as Matthew tried to out dribble an opposition midfielder only to be dispossessed. The ball was hit forward and Andy missed the ball allowing an attacker in, but his shot went wide of the goal. Some nice football saw us work the ball around Mount Pleasant's box with Joe finally hitting his shot into the keepers arms.
A couple of successive corners for Mount Pleasant put us under pressure but the ball was cleared without mishap. Losing the ball once more in midfield Mount Pleasant pushed on with the ball passing Andy to let Mount Pleasant put the ball narrowly past the post. On 47 minutes, after soaking up the pressure we hit Mount Pleasant again when Joe and Liam interchanged passes and Joe finished the move to put us 8-0 in the lead.
Conor was taken off as Josh came on to replace him. Frank looked to have got away again but the defender out muscled him to clear the ball up field where Mount Pleasant raced through. It looked like the attacker was getting away from Jack, until he nicked the ball away from the attacker and back to Dean. We very nearly scored again as Josh was set away, allowing him to put a good cross into Danny who saw the keeper make a double save to deny him from close range.
Johnny came on on the left to replace the departing Liam. It wasn't long before we extended our lead again, when after 55 minutes The ball was played across to Johnny, who turn inside and outside about four times before hitting his shot across the keeper and in off the far post. 9-0 to New Marske.
David and Hubby were next to be replaced as Dougy and Bash came on. After a delay for a clash of heads we were quickly on the break again as Danny saw his excellent shot come back off the post before being cleared up field. This allowed Mount Pleasant to break forward and what looked like a simple ball to Dean caused a bit of a problem when the attacker chased the ball down. Instead of simply picking the ball up, Dean opted to kick it clear, only managing to slice it to a Mount Pleasant player who luckily for us saw the shot go wide of the goal.
Joe was replaced by Ben Leaper shortly after that last Mount Pleasant attack. Ben managed to play a nice ball in for Johnny who was challenged by the onrushing keeper, as the ball was played to far forward and out for a goal kick. We very nearly extended our lead when Frank outpaced the defence and shot only for the keeper to make a smart save. The ball trickled toward the back post where Ben Leaper looked like he was going to tap it in, but the ball ended up the wrong side of the post.
The wind was getting stronger all the time and some good defending was needed to keep Mount Pleasant at bay. The referee blew for full time about five minutes early on my watch, bringing to an end a comprehensive victory in difficult conditions, and it was nice to keep a clean sheet for a change.
Final Score: New Marske 9 - Mount Pleasant 0
MOTM:- : Matthew Watts
Other images from the game...
