“We burgled you, lads.” Those were the words of the Highworth coach to a crestfallen Whites squad as they and their manager tried to work out exactly how they had managed to draw a blank in their first match of 2015.
In fairness to the visitors, they fought tooth and nail for every ball in the face of a second-half onslaught from an increasingly desperate Colts side and deserve credit for making sure the lucky break that gave them an interval lead proved decisive at the final whistle.
The Colts produced some decent football in parts and carved out enough opportunities to win two or three games. However, had tthe match lasted all day it is doubtful whether the ball would have ever ended up in the Highworth net.
Playing up the slope and into a fairly strong wind, Colts found things rather tougher in the first half than the second but made a bright start thanks to some strong work in midfield from Matthew and George’s trickery on the right.
Bradley distributed well throughout and a fantastic ball over the top put Brandon M through but he just failed to find the finish to match.
Highworth certainly had their moments through a fast and skilful attack but found Tom, Bradley, Luke and Callum in no mood to be beaten.
But they broke the deadlock in bizarre fashion midway through the first half when a pass from the back caught the Colts defence square and bobbled past Max as he tried to clear under pressure from an onrushing striker on the edge of the box. The keeper tried to recover but the wind and slope conspired against him and the ball had enough legs to roll apologetically over the line.
Brandon H threatened an equaliser after a fine move involving Luke S, Matthew and Liam but the keeper parried his effort and it squirmed agonisingly past the far post. He later volleyed straight at the Highworth number one, while Matthew fired just over.
With the elements in their favour, the Colts felt confident of turning the tide after the break and launched attack after attack as Max, who had dealt expertly with some accurate Highworth shooting in the first half, was reduced to the role of a virtual spectator.
But no matter how hard they tried, the hosts could not find the finish to match their effort and approach play. A dazzling run from Liam ended with a shot that was cleared of the line, Toby saw an blocked and then produced an angled drive that whistled millimetres wide of the far post, Matthew fired into the side-netting and Luke VDB produced a close-range volley that drifted just past the upright.
As time ticked on, Brandon M lashed a shot just past the angle of post and bar and won a free-kick on the edge of the box that clipped the top of a player’s head in the wall before flying over the top. A succession of fine corners from Toby were well defended by Highworth, who were denied the chance of a breakaway second goal at the other end by Luke S and Bradley as Colts committed more and more men forward.
It was not to be this time – but if Colts can show the same level of determination and teamwork every week then they will certainly get their just desserts more often than not.
MOM: Liam.