Free Charter Standard Club sign with every two baskets of Mothers Pride purchasedThursday 15th October, Lincolnshire Intermediate League
Birch Park, Bottesford
Bottesford Town (2) 2 (Parry, Robb)
Scotter United (0) 0
Admission Free. Attendance 56
A decent enough game, back home by 10.00PM and two personal firsts ticked off for me at Birch Park tonight too ... my first ever Lincs Intermediate League game and the first time I've ever seen Scotter United in action ... note those are hypothetical ticks by the way, I gave up making lists and keeping concise records of stuff like this many moons ago and I have long since lost count of all the small yet significant data appertaining to how many teams I have seen, grounds I have visited and minor competitions I've witnessed first hand. This blog arrived far too late in the day to salvage any record of my extensive travelogue over the years, oh well.Bottesford Town were good value for their win, they passed the ball around well and looked every bit the intermediate wing of an up and coming football club that oozes neatness, tidiness and (for want of a better word) professionalism from every pore. The ground has improved even more since my visit a few weeks ago - somebody is obviously backing this club to the hilt, good for them!
Colin 'Capello' Picken- Scotter United"Matt Lawson, 'the big lad in goal' for the visitors is playing very well and he's had to be from the outset"
I'd just scribbled those words down (25 minutes) when he dropped a cross (but recovered well) and then conceded the first goal a minute later when Josh Parry fired home from inside the box. Sorry for putting the mockers on you Matt.
On 40 minutes (or thereabouts) Joe Robb got away with almost dwelling on the ball too long in the box and steered it across the face of the Scotter goal and just inside the post to put 'The Poachers' two ahead.
On other frequent raids into the Scotter half, the home side had been guilty of some 'Emleyesque' type moments of 'finishing' (see yesterdays post) and the ball spent a lot of time vanishing over the fence behind the goal and onto the training pitches.
The referee, though obviously wanting to let the play flow sans regular interruptions, could, I felt, have been a little more strict in his application of the rules as regards heavy challenges and blatant fouls. One Bottesford player in particular got away Scot free with two very late, heavy and high fouls that ought to have had at least been dealt with by the referee suggesting to their manager that he should be replaced for being too passionate and fired up in his desire to stop opponents playing the ball at any cost.
It was fairly obvious from the reaction of a good few of those around us to these transgressions, that they favoured Scotter and had travelled the four short miles up the A159 hoping to see their lads beat the representatives from the local 'big club'. There was no need for Bottesford to have resorted to that kind of thing because they obviously had the upper hand on the night anyway and possess several really talented young players.
On 65 minutes, Scotter's most effective thorn in Bottesford's side thus far, the lanky 'all arms and legs' James 'Crouchy' Shuker, had to leave the field of play after taking a knock and any Scotter comeback was effectively nullified from then on in. Though they probably deserved a consolation goal for their efforts late on. Shuker had worked his socks off.
Matt Lawson was on hand to make a couple more point blank stops to restrict the deficit to two goals ... he's actually far more agile and athletic than he looks - and in spite of me jinxing him deservedly won the man of the match (an unofficial award I have bestowed on him).
the66pow
