LEICESTER ROAD 5-1 LICHFIELD CITY: REPORT & IMAGES...

Roadies In Gear Quickly For Both Halves, Whilst Lichfield Get Going Dreckley… 

Leicester Road 5-1 Lichfield City

A 42 minute journey took me 75 minutes from Solihull and when I arrived at Leicester Road, an interesting comparison with last Saturday’s game of choice for me reared its head. At least there was no fee for parking, as there had been at this ground a couple of seasons ago… 

THROWING MONEY ABOUT...

I saw Racing Club Warwick beat Alsager Town in the FA Vase Round 2 at the weekend, a prestigious match which as a concession, cost me £2 to get in and 50p for a programme. For the Leicester Road v Lichfield encounter, at the same Step 6 Midland League Division 1 level as R.C. Warwick, I paid out a £5 concession fee and £2 for a programme… Admittedly I was handed a ‘voucher’ for another game at the ground but this wasn’t explained to me at the time and I only found it and realised what it was when I pulled the programme from my bag at home… Hmm. And getting a picture of the team-sheets proved impossible. I was told to look at a white board but that was incorrect, for Sam Munton was apparently playing both at 7 and 12 for the hosts, whilst Nuno Gomes wasn’t even mentioned (he was number 7…) Ah, well, it’s all in the game, I guess… Oh, the sound system didn’t work properly either, the muffled sound being totally indecipherable from the terracing… 

Ah, the game! Yes, it was entertaining! Leicester Road began each half in lively fashion, netted two goals quickly both times and these sorties deflated Lichfield like all the air had sagged from a Scotsman’s bagpipes. In Cornwall it is reckoned that when one asks a work-person when a job can be done or might be completed, the answer will be: “Dreckley…” And in truth, Lichfield got going in each half dreckley… Two down early on, they achieved no offense until two efforts rose into the evening Hinckley drizzle just before half-time. Following two more killer goals soon after the break, they grew more into the match in fairness and scored a stunning consolation goal and for midfielder Dan Thurstance, it was a fair consolation for his lively performance. Right-flanker Ben Lund had lit up what little offense the visitors mustered though and he was unfortunate when denied by barely threatened home goalie Will Highland, just before Thurstance scored his goal.

MOST OF THE CROWD...

The hosts were simply too slick for their guests in the opening half particularly, with Jake Holt and Joe Lyne bossing midfield, supporting their extremely effective skipper Greg Downes, who bagged a brace on the night, as the two wingers Gomes and Kieran Reid caused regular problems for visiting full-backs Tom Howard and Jordan Hunt. City were totally dominated, as home full-backs Jordan Burrows and Jack Harrison were always supporting Roadie attacks too and Lichfield were forced back time and again, although to be fair, through Thurstance and Charlie Jones, they did try to pass the ball and not simply hack clearances towards hefty forward Tom Green. The outlet of Lund was the one real offensive weapon City possessed but he wasn’t brought into the proceedings quite enough, yet when he was, his clever footwork and pace were dangers. 

LANGHAM STARTS IT...

The Roadies were on top right from the start and before the opening goal, Reid made a rush to the left byeline but edged his low delivery behind the goal-frame, then a fine right-footer by Downes from 25 yards skidded wide of the left upright with City goalie Matt Cottrell slithering and soon a set-piece saw Green glance a defensive header looping towards his own goal but when Callum Rudd challenged the jumping Cottrell, he was penalised, perhaps harshly. And then Reid struck.

HIGHLAND: MOSTLY A COMFORTABLE EVENING...

Lyne’s right-flank centre saw Holt badgering the Lichfield defence and the ball broke to Reid at inside-left, who tricked Lund and drove a low cross-shot into the far corner of the net.

1-0: REID...

The guests were rocked, they reeled and subsequently rolled over to concede a second goal and this strike owed almost everything to skipper Downes, for he started it, took a neat pass from striker Matt Langham and finished the move himself.

As the Roadies defended, visiting central defender Joe Cornforth attempted a 28 yard shot which Downes charged at like a special teams player for the Dallas Cowboys attempting to block a Jacksonville Jaguars’ punt. The ball bludgeoned into the Roadie and broke for Langham on half-way and the powerful forward cleverly shoved a pass through the middle for his skipper, who had simply carried on running like he’d completed a 1500 metre race but hadn’t seen the finish-line. Downes, onside, trudged on and beat the advancing Cottrell with confidence, low into the net.

2-0: DOWNES...

Lichfield, unable to react efficiently enough, managed to head out a shot by the tricky Nuno Gomes, before Reid fed Downes for a shot which City skipper Dan McLeod blocked to Holt and his low drive from 20 yards was saved sprawling right by the beleaguered Cottrell. Langham swung a hopeful boot at a long forward kick but what turned into a lob dropped too high, Gomes fastened onto a Lyne pass but was foiled by Cottrell’s intervention, Downes set up Reid who drove too high from 16 yards and Cornforth did well to tackle Gomes, who was running onto a return pass from Burrows.

VERBAL WARNING...

Still the Leicester pressure forced Lichfield to defend and Rudd couldn’t get a good connection to a right-byeline centre by Lyne, following Holt’s quick free-kick, then Cottrell misjudged a long bouncing pass by Reid as he attempted to head the ball and although Langham won possession, the ‘keeper tackled the Roadie with a challenge any defender would have been proud of. Holt’s next through-pass nearly looked like an inaccurate 25 yard shot but finally, finally, dreckley, Lichfield had two shots from distance, by Jones and Green but both flew way too high, as Cottrell bellowed from his penalty-box: “That’s better…” It was. But not good enough…    

"I CAN DANCE, MAN... LOOK AT MY MOVES..."

Dan Griffiths replaced Green at the interval but despite a few moments of possession, City fell to two quick goals again. First a right-flank corner by Holt was headed deep and high into the net by the thrusting Rudd from a few yards out, with Cottrell’s arms raised like those of a helpless handball goalminder. 

CITY PREPARE TO CONCEDE TWO MORE QUICK GOALS...

3-0...

RUDD THE SCORER...

Almost immediately, Gomes’ short pass was dummied by Langham 20 yards out and the ball rolled for Downes to caress low into the left corner of the net from the 18 yard line, leaving Cottrell grasping damp air as he plunged right.

4-0 & DOWNES LOOKS FOR SOME LOVE...

THAT'S BETTER...

AND HE LIKED THIS...

A fine move by the Roadies led to a low centre by Downes from the right being shovelled past his own left upright by the pressured Howard; Howard’s Way of attempting to stem the blue and dark red tide. Jones was cautioned for a foul on the running Gomes, Downes’ sheer persistence saw him block a City clearance but Langham shot the ricochet wide from inside-left, Holt drove wide of the left stick from 25 yards and a superb run on the right by Gomes to the byeline set up Langham for a shot from just 12 yards out but he sliced his left footer badly. And then, eventually, eventually, dreckley, Lichfield tested Highland and then, er, scored…

A fine run by Lund saw him sear at the home defence and exchange a smart one-two with Griffiths but Highland got down quickly to block the winger’s low shot. The ball was cleared by the Roadies but ended up with Thurstance, the midfielder who always wanted the ball and was the one who picked out some accurate passes during the evening. He simply lugged a right-footer from about 28 yards and the ball fizzed upwards, swerved and dropped just under the right angle of bar and upright. Great goal… 

4-1: TAKE A BOW MR THURSTANCE...

The industrious Jack Elcock shot low at Highland (not high at Lowland), Langham threatened at the other end following Lyne’s deflected centre, Gomes was replaced by Sam Munton, Holt was replaced by Jetmir Esso and the last named substitute made an instant contribution, setting up goal five. Jetmir suggests pace, Esso suggests he was fuelled up with a tiger in his tank and so when he greased past Hunt like a sporty jalopy and shoved a smart centre onto Munton’s boot just 2 yards from goal, the net bulged again.

5-1 NOW...

SCORER MUNTON REWARDS HIS BOOT...

Alex Keating replaced Elcock for the visitors, Munton attempted to lift a pass for Langham instead of feeding the unmarked Reid to his left and when Cottrell’s errant clearance found him 28 yards out, Munton’s chip wasn’t high enough and the stranded Cottrell gratefully clutched the ball over his head. Harry Solomons replaced Reid for the hosts and Joe Speck, an on-spec replacement for Dan Shepherd, made rather a tidy contribution for his team as the minutes ticked away. Rudd was cautioned for a foul on the tricky Lund but although Thurstance’s 25 yard free-kick shot was going wide of the left upright from the inside-right channel, Rudd got his head to it anyway. From the breakout, Esso’s fine acceleration looked promising but the move broke down and Hunt was booked for attempting to hi-jack the speeding Roadie.

LATE FREE-KICK FOR LICHFIELD...

The damage limitation was reasonably successful for City who actually secured some decent possession late in the game, or dreckley as they say in Mousehole, or Mawgan Porth. Both Lichfield full-backs were tested, Hunt more so than Howard and with such wide players as Gomes and Esso, Hunt must have cursed his misfortune. McLeod and Cornforth battled manfully in defence but in truth, Leicester’s fast starts in each half had killed the visitors. Thurstance and Jones kept working though, Griffiths fought in attack and Lund was a bit of a menace but the Roadies were simply superior.

HANDSHAKES...

Holt and Lyne ran the game until the former was given a rest, Gomes and Esso were indeed dangers on the right but one feels a little sorry for Langham who held the ball up well on many occasions but whose finishing deserted him on the night. Josh Unsworth and Rudd were competent in centre-defence but a special word really ought to go to Greg Downes for his sheer commitment to the cause and two goals nabbed by rugged opportunism…

"LET'S GO HOME..."

Driving home, the Department of Transport decided to close a lane on the M6 as it joined the M42 south then also two lanes on the M42 itself, forcing me to leave the motorway at the A45 junction and drive home through Catherine-de-Barnes village and Solihull town centre, so that a 42 minute journey became one of 65 minutes. Esso didn’t mean any happy motoring for me, that’s for sure… 

And as I drove I speculated about reporters who go to non-league games, don’t have to pay at all and yet write just a few lines in local newspapers… And get paid too. I’m doing something wrong, I reckon…

It is what I do though…

And I got home dreckley, I suppose…

TEAMS: I truly hope that these names are correct and that there are no errors of identification in the above report…     

LEICESTER ROAD:

WILL HIGHLAND, JORDAN BURROWS, JACK HARRISON, GREG DOWNES (CAPT), JOSH UNSWORTH, CALLUM RUDD, NUNO GOMES, JOE LYNE, MATT LANGHAM, JAKE HOLT, KIERAN REID.

SUBS:

SAM MUNTON, RICKY BLEWITT, CALLUM EARLS, HARRY SOLOMONS, JETMIR ESSO.

LICHFIELD CITY:

MATT COTTRELL, TOM HOWARD, JORDAN HUNT, DAN McLEOD (CAPT), CHARLIE JONES, JOE CORNFORTH, BEN LUND, DAN THURSTANCE, TOM GREEN, JACK ELCOCK, DAN SHEPHERD.

SUBS:

JOE SPECK, DAN GRIFFITHS, MATT TOLLEY, ALEX NORRIS, ALEX KEATING.