To an outsider, a 2-1 win at home to third-from-bottom Cheltenham B might be considered closer than it should have been. However, to anyone watching it was obvious that there were a few players in white – why not the usual black, with numbers? – whose ability looked a little out of place in that team. In that context it was an outstanding performance, most definitely at the same level as previous weeks. The early exchanges showed it was going to be a tight match, and when Cheltenham had taken the lead the task looked even harder. As in previous weeks, our midfield was dominant and our forwards were looking rampant but it was starting to look like one of those games when their keeper kept making outstanding saves or, when he was beaten, the post came to his rescue twice. However, the equalizer did eventually come, from a short when Platty flicked the ball towards goal which was deflected in off a defender’s stick. The second half continued in much the same vein and we had periods camped in their half, with their keeper making fine saves, but then Cheltenham counter-attacking and Duncan being drawn into action to make excellent saves himself. This was interspersed with mazy runs from Cheltenham players, going past four or five of our players at a time. The winner came when Curtis robbed the ball on the half-way line to start a move which ended with Alex on the left-hand side of the D slotting the ball past the advancing keeper. A few nervous moments at the end but a fully-deserved victory. The large number of nominations for Man-of-the-Match showed the level of performance throughout the team and, in truth, anyone could have one. However, for a handful of top-class saves at key moments in the game, the winner was Duncan.
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