The Bootiful Game Issue 2 The Bootiful Game Issue 2 | Page 55

Rainworth Miners Welfare:
Townsend, Ludlam, Clayton, Betney, Plant, Cheesman, Brewin, Buxton, Moxam,
Heather, Sykes. Subs: Morris, Holmes, Widdowson, Clarke.
rainworth MW 6
Moxam ‘8, ’32, Sykes ’63, ’81, ’87, Morris ’66
thing in common... they couldn't
pass a football to anybody
wearing the same coloured shirt
as they were wearing;
Rainworth grew in stature and
were completely bossing the
game, with a constant wave of
attacks.
Rainworth's first goalscorer
Moxam, almost turned provider
as he played Matt Sykes
through, but Davies did well to
stay on his feet for as long as
possible and blocked the
ensuing shot.
Davies saved Retford again,
when he beat out a shot from
Moxam, while the Wrens striker
couldn't keep the ball on target
from the rebound.
Brewin, completely
unchallenged, rolled the ball
sideways to Heather who
scooped his effort over the bar.
Matt Sykes found himself in
yards of space, twice, but
missed a sitter with the goal at
his mercy, then saw Davies pull
off another stop to deny him
moments later.
" Just after the half hour mark,
Ludlam directed the ball into
Moxam's pass with his head,
the Retford defence resembled
a table football back four again
and the Welfare striker lobbed
the ball over Davies as he raced
from his line to do his defenders
jobs for them. 0-2
Keith Melvin was heading the
ball away for United and looked
good in the air, but on the
ground, collectively, a back four
including two players who don't
usually play in defence looked
awful.
" Brewin played the ball in
behind Retford's static back line
and Davies thwarted Moxam yet
again.
" The Retford United keeper is
renowned for barking out
instructions to his defence, but
his verbals were proving
pointless today, because they
were all too far away to hear
him.
" Right on the stroke of half
time, Walters chipped the ball
towards the visitors goal from
the right hand edge of the
penalty area and when
Townsend punched it away
under pressure, Wisdom-
Lockwood got to the loose ball
first but the visitors keeper
saved with his feet.
HT: Jamie Davies 0 v
Rainworth Miners Welfare
2
" Personally I was amazed
that Rainworth hadn't already
sewn this game up prior to
half time and I doff my very
stylish Pork Pie hat in the
direct of Jamie Davies, for
giving the Badgers a chance
to salvage something out of
this game.
" Heather and Matt Sykes
combined as Rainworth
attacked from the restart, but
Ben Wyld
intercepted
and cleared
the ball
behind at the
expense of a
corner.
Chris Bettney (Yes! That Chris
Bettney, who must be at least
67 these days, though he looks
well on it), planted the ball
above the Badgers penalty spot
but Melvin cleared his lines... as
Davies breathed a sigh of relief
because his defence had finally
made an appearance.
" All of a sudden out of
nowhere, a jolly Retfordian
bloke called Brian who was sat
beside me, exclaimed to
everyone within earshot that: "If
we get one, we'll get four
y'know!"
" I smiled benevolently and
nodded, just to humour him,
though I suspect that in spite of
my silence as I bit my lip and
suppressed a fit of giggles; that
my facial expression was giving
away what I was really thinking,
i.e: "Shut up you daft old
bugger, playing like this, this
bloody shower won't score four
more goals all season". But
bloomin' heck!
" You can pick my lottery
numbers later old lad, because
your outlandish prediction (in
front of witnesses) and what
happened next left everybody in
the ground completely
gobsmacked.
" Retford United did indeed
score four times over the course
of the next eight crazy minutes.
" Nathan Adams nicked the
ball through into the path of
Chris Funnell and just as it
looked as if he'd run into a blind
alley full of Wrens defenders, he
shot from ten yards out and as
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