First half 

The first few minutes of todays game was a battle to clear the ball from our own half, as Long Eaton came straight at us from the kick off. As the game started to settle down, it was clear to see that this was going to be a tight game, with both sides battling for every ball. Cotgraves first attack of the game came on 5 minutes when Keaton Powell shot from just inside the Long Eaton goal area. The keeper dropped the ball, and Keaton dragged it wide of the keeper to fire the ball into the back of the net, 0-1 Cotgrave. Cotgrave really started to liven up now, and just minutes later found themselves 0-2 up, when Johnny Commins scored his first goal of the game. Cotgrave continued to battle well, but Long Eaton always looked dangerous on the counter attack. Long Eaton kept pushing forward, and after a few well taken corners, they found the back of the net on 17 minutes after some sloppy Cotgrave defending. Cotgrave went to sleep for the next couple of minutes, and allowed Long Eaton to equalise on 20 minutes, after leaving two Long Eaton players unmarked. The remaining 5 minutes of the first half was an evenly matched midfield battle, although Long Eaton had the better chances to take the lead, only to be denied by two excellent saves by goal keeper Jake Reed.

Half time Long Eaton 2 – 2 Cotgrave

Second half

As the midfield battle continued, Zak Bemrose and Keaton Powell continued to put themselves about, and tackle well. It was on 31 minutes when Keaton lifted the ball over a Long Eaton player to find Johnny, who superbly struck the ball on the half volley from outside the area, and managed to lob the Long Eaton Keeper to make it 2-3 Cotgrave. Long Eaton still threatened, and George Morris and Liam Hurworth were constantly under pressure throughout the game. Long Eaton got themselves another corner, and as the Cotgrave players just stood and watched the ball float into the area, Long Eaton took advantage and tapped in their third goal of the game on 37 minutes, 3-3. Getting the equaliser gave Long Eaton a huge lift, and two minutes later they took the lead for the first time in the game on 39 minutes. Cotgrave still had chances to make amends, but Long Eaton proved to difficult to break down. Keenan Berry put some quality corners into the box, but no one was able to get on the end of them. Long Eaton caught Cotgrave sleeping at the back, and broke through on 45 minutes to make it 5-3. With a couple of minutes remaining, Cotgrave replaced the tired legs of Zak Bemrose, George Morris and Keenan Berry with Joshua Childs, Luke Williams and Matthew Sheppard. All the substitutes played well when they came on, but it was too late to make a difference to the score line.

Final Score Long Eaton 5– 3 Cotgrave

Summary

After last week’s performance, I was expecting the players to perform to the same level again this week. The players did not disappoint today against a well organised Long Eaton side. The game could have gone either way in my opinion, but again we were punished in the end, after a few lapses of concentration and tired legs in defence. Having spoken to the Long Eaton manager after the game, he said that we were the best team that they have come up against this season. I am with our recent performances, and although we are still without a win in the league, we have to remember that every team that we have played so far, are in the top four of the table. Keep playing as we are doing guys, and I think we can still easily finish in the top four ourselves. I’m looking forward to causing an upset next week, when we travel to Division 1 side Keyworth in the FA Shield. Well done today guys, we were unlucky not to come away with any points. Keep up the hard work.