Match Report
On a surprisingly pleasant November morning the Ramblers arrived at Moor Lane to find a fresh faced, energetic looking, unfamiliar Chester Nomads team; raising a lot of questions about the oppo’s team selection for a Garrison cup game.
Thankfully after an extremely brief warm up we kicked off and it was business as usual for the Ramblers. The midfield of Philips, Sykes and Howard (in his first outing in the Dan Wise role) started well, winning tackles and supplying White and Bradshaw on the wings who were linking beautifully with Holt and Martin up front causing the Nomads defence all sorts of problems.
After a few near misses and a couple of full stretch saves by the Nomads keeper from Martin and the returning King from distance the ball was in the back of he net. Phillips broke through midfield and slid Holt in who calmly slotted into the bottom corner only for it to be harshly disallowed for offside.
Not feeling sorry for themselves the Ramblers continued to press and got their rewards when a great cross from Martin on the left was volleyed expertly into the corner by Holt steamrolling in. 1-0 A well deserved lead.
More Ramblers pressure and some lung-busting length of the field dribbles by White kept the Ramblers on top and looking dangerous. White dusted himself off and from one of the resulting corners whipped in a great ball, picking out Doherty who powered a header into the top bin.
2-0 Ramblers half time, Brett’s top still sparkling white having not had a save to make.
The second half started more frantically with Nomads pushing for a way back into the game. The back three and Howard (heading every goal kick from both keepers) kept the Nomads at bay whilst White, Bradshaw, Holt and Martin were a constant threat on the break.
King was unlucky to hit the bar after winning the ball on the edge of the opposition box and deciding to try and break the net rather than finding an unmarked Holt at the back post.
Shortly after, Holt was cynically hacked down on the edge of the box when running clean through on goal. Justice was served as Holt stepped up and bent the free kick over the wall into the corner. Clearly delighted, Holt offered a sign of peace to the opposition defender who had fouled him. 3-0 Ramblers.
Holt, now super charged, capitalised on a defensive mix up to complete his hat trick and the scoring. 4-0 Ramblers full time.
Phipps still managed to get his kit dirty by getting nailed after clearing the ball outside the box and Bradshaw somehow wasn’t given a penalty when even the oppo was telling the ref it was a foul.
Overall a great team performance and result with everyone playing well. Keep up the good work.