Rossington Main 2 v AFC Mansfield 3 - NCEL Div 1

Saturday 5th December 2015 - 3pm Kick Off
Toolstation NCEL Division 1
at Oxford Street
Rossington Main (1) 2
Matthew Ellis 32, Craig Mitchell 85 OG
AFC Mansfield (1) 3
Brad Billam 39 OG, Ryan Williams 56, Sam O'Malley 76
Admission £2. Programme £1.50. Attendance 210

Rossington Main:
Richard Watson, Calum Coburn, Brad Billam, Callum Wiffen, Jordan Woodward, Liam Cooper, Matty Bradley, Shaun Pendleton (C), Lee Holmes, Matt Ellis, Jason Stokes
Subs - Tom Humphries, Adam Rowland, Ryan Brewster, Jordan Wildey
AFC Mansfield
Jason White, Adon Spencer, Luke Jeffs, Grant Allott, Chris Timons, Danny Naylor, Ryan Williams, Phil Buxton, Dean Rick (C), Sam O'Malley, Craig Mitchell
Subs - Brad Wilson, Danny Williams, Steve Sowter, Perry Marriott, Dan Hartshorn

Respect is due to the home club's chairman Carl Stokes and his crew at Rossington Main FC... at this expensive time of year for most people, the admission price at Oxford Street was slashed to just £2 and the local public responded accordingly to this timely initiative and turned up in good numbers to generate a crowd of 210.
There was also a collection taking place at the ground, for donations to the local food bank, which looking at the tables full laden with foodstuff had been a roaring success.
A lot of non league football teams pay lip service to being a 'community club', but Rossington are one of the select few who genuinely embrace that ethos and hit the nail right on the head in this respect.
I applaud their continuing efforts wholeheartedly.

The two sides played out a 1-1 draw at Forest Town the last time they met back in August.
AFC Mansfield hadn't won in their last four games, but they managed to maintain their unbeaten away record in the NCEL this afternoon, against a determined Blues side, who weren't ever going to let the Bulls high-flying league position, or the strong wind whipping across the ground knock them out of their stride.
'Rosso' for their part have tailed off a bit after making a fairly promising start to the season. Last weekend they lost 5-0 on the road against Knaresborough Town, who also knocked today's visitors out of the NCEL League Cup on Wednesday night..

There's always Funk-ing one!

Inside the opening few minutes Brad Billam's left wing cross moved about in the wind and crashed off of the Bulls crossbar, as the hosts went in search of an opening goal from the off.
The referee showed an early yellow card to Adon Spencer, for a minor misdemeanour. Maybe Justin Carpenter was just stamping his authority on the game early doors, to show that he wasn't going to put up with any nonsense today... but even though these cautions all add up towards suspensions and hit clubs hard in the pocket, I've seen many examples of players seeing just how far they can push their luck with any official who shows even the merest hint of any leniency, so at least the referee had drawn a line in the sand to that end.

AFC Mansfield went on the attack and Sam O'Malley knocked Ryan Williams probing pass into the path of Dean Rick, but the Bulls usually prolific captain put the ball wide of the post on this occasion.
Billam broke free on the left flank again and drove a low cross into the six yard box that only needed the slightest of touches, but Matt Ellis couldn't quite reach the ball at full stretch.
Chris Timons was the second Bulls player to go into the book, when he clattered into Callum Wiffen, right in front of where most of the home sides most vocal supporters were stood. Being the sort of committed player he is, who'll never shirk away from a challenge, Timons would no doubt now be walking a tightrope with Mr Carpenter from hereon in, until Rudy Funk eventually substituted him with ten minutes to go.

Jason White saved Lee Holmes angled shot with his feet and Callum Wiffen nudged the ball narrowly past the left hand upright as he slid in to reach the rebound.

The Bulls upped the tempo and created several more chances; Craig Mitchell got free through the right channel into the Main's penalty area, but Rich Watson was equal to his shot, Phil Buxton picked up the ball thirty-five yards out and upon seeing that the Rosso area was as crowded as Meadowhall Shopping Centre on Xmas Eve, opted to launch a thundering shot from long range, that flew into orbit in a wind assisted manner, while Spencer knocked a testing cross in from out on the right, that O'Malley and Rick combined to thread through Main's defence to Williams, who pulled his effort fractionally wide.

Having survived a few worrying moments the hosts regained their composure and Matty Bradley lofted a right wing cross into the mix that Ellis nodded over White to put the home side in front in the thirty second minute.

The Bulls were almost on level terms from the restart, but when Danny Naylor drove a low cross into the Main goal from out on the right, Wiffen was on hand to divert Williams back post effort away to safety.

Luke Jeffs delivered a cross into the Rossington six yard box and Rick thought that he'd touched the ball over the goal line... but the match officials didn't... and the referee waved play on,

However the Bulls were on level terms in the thirty ninth minute, when Billam headed a left wing cross from Williams back across the face of his own goal that ended up in the net... though it was an unfortunate own goal, credit where it is due, that would've been a textbook finish to be proud of if he's scored it at the other end instead.

Prior to netting the equaliser for them, Billam had been a thorn in the visitors side, linking up well with Jason Stokes whenever Rossington had pushed forward down the left flank.

Williams had two more chances just before the break, but shooting into the wind is always likely to be a lottery and the teams went into the break level pegging.

HT: Rossington Main 1 v AFC Mansfield 1

Timons looked to be on very thin ice with the referee, when he fouled Ellis just outside the right hand side of the Bulls area, but he escaped with just a lecture.

Shaun Pendleton dropped the resulting free kick wide of the post... and the visitors had, in my humble opinion, just narrowly escaped on two fronts.

Liam Cooper stood his ground and thwarted Rick's run through into the Main penalty area in a borderline 'firm but fair' manner.

Williams played a delicate 'one-two' with Rick, but Watson saved well from the energetic Bulls number seven, who must be clocking on a bit these days, but is always involved in his side's forward play.

Mitchell put the ball over the bar as the visitors threatened again, but they struck in the fifty-sixth minute when Rick and Williams both seemed in two minds over who was going to have a shot at goal, as the ball sat up nicely for both of them just inside the box, Watson got down and got a hand to Williams thumping effort, but he couldn't prevent the ball from going in and the Bulls were in front.

White did well to tip a dipping shot from Shaun Pendleton over the bar as the home side threatened to pull level.

Bradley won a corner off of Grant Allott and in the ensuing goalmouth scramble, White pulled off a great point blank one handed save from Eliss' goal-bound header.

Williams continued to cause problems for the home side, with Rick missing two openings that the live wire winger had created for him, but O'Malley made no mistake when the same player rolled the ball sideways to him a yard inside the area and he drilled the ball firmly just inside the left hand upright.

At 1-3 down with fourtenn minutes to go, Rossington didn't fold, but with the Bulls shutting up shop they had a mountain to climb now. However, they soldiered on regardless and in the 85th minute, Mitchell attempted to head a long ball clear in his own area, but it skimmed off the top off his head and over White, to give the home side an unexpected lifeline.
From Pendleton's through ball, Matty Bradley chipped the ball narrowly over the bar from an angle.
Deep into injury time, Holmes, the Main's player manager, couldn't quite keep an awkward bouncing ball on target inside the six yard box and his strike looped agonisingly over the bar.
The final whistle sounded after a nervy six minutes of stoppage time for the Bulls and they had held on for a very hard won three points, against a Rossington side who'd been the width of a fag paper away from grabbing a point for themselves.
FT: Rossington Main 2 v AFC Mansfield 3

Results at the business end of the table, meant that AFC Mansfield had really needed the win today, as most of the teams near the top of the table picked up points as well, and as they left the field of play, they knew that they had been made to battle bloody hard for maximum points today, by a very resilient, determined and hard-working home side.
But, they are still nicely poised for a promotion push, in spite of some recent setbacks in cup competitions... at least they can concentrate on the league and their promotion push now, sans any distractions.

Rossington Main got nothing for all of their lung-busting graft this afternoon, but within the club itself, they have a great calibre of people on and off the pitch and a community spirit that some of the so-called 'community' clubs in the area would give their right arm for.
When this village pulls together, they all join in... and while the media is full of bravado merchants at non league clubs 'bigging' themselves up while losing sight of what the game at this level is all about, as massive ego complexes obscure their vision and perceptions of their own importance in the grand scheme of things, you can't ever imagine Rossington Main losing touch with their roots... nor AFC Mansfield for that matter.
All in all, a full blooded, hrad-fought and very competitive game of football, with no quarter given... it's a shame that somebody had to be ob the losing side this afternoon... I really enjoyed that!