The second game of the season brought together local rivals Cotgrave and Radcliffe for what turned out to be a great game of football.

The first twenty minutes were played largely in the Radcliffe half with Kit Weir, Lewis Hopkinson and Luke Black in the Cotgrave midfield keeping good possession. Cotgrave looked most threatening on the left where Elliott Coulthard-Gaunt and Max Robertson were linking up well. However, Radcliffe defended ably and shots on goal were rare. As the match progressed Radcliffe gradually got their own game together and the last ten minutes saw Cotgrave forced to defend. Although, with Ben Halcro and Harry Normington in good form in the centre of the Cotgrave defence, keeper Nathan Burgin rarely had any work to do. James Staples, David Young and Matthew Hodgett were introduced to the midfield and helped to keep the Radcliffe attacking threat away from the Cotgrave goal.

Four minutes into the second-half Cotgrave took the lead with a brilliant Hopkinson goal, lifting the ball over a Radcliffe defender before half-volleying the ball across the keeper into the back of the net. Cotgrave then settled into attacking Radcliffe right across the pitch. Aidan Sheppard demonstrated his strength and athleticism in central midfield repeatedly recovering the ball and bringing it forward to Weir and Black, who were particularly impressive in distributing the ball both out wide to Robertson and Hopkinson and forward to Jordan Cumberland.

Radcliffe were playing on the break, but on forty-three minutes a loose ball was picked up by Radcliffe outside the Cotgrave area and an impressive long range strike gave Burgin no chance of making a save. One-all. Cotgrave then poured forward but rarely seemed to find a way through the Radcliffe defence. Thomas Staples was re-introduced at right back and added his driving runs to Cotgrave’ s attacking play. However, Cotgrave were glad of Burgin’ s cool head in preventing a goal when he came out of his area and stood up well to a Radcliffe forward who had got in behind the defence.

Then in the final minute of normal time Radcliffe cleared a Cotgrave corner, Halcro was first to the ball and drove a shot low and hard towards the Radcliffe goal, the keeper seemed to have it covered before one of his own defenders stuck out a foot and deflected the ball into the net. Two-one. Several minutes of extra time were added but Cotgrave seemed to have relaxed and were completely in control. Robertson twice took the ball down the left of the Radcliffe defence, the first time to see his shot just drift wide of the post, the second time to deliver a cross which Cumberland was unlucky not to finish with a clever header.

A great match and the boys can be proud of a performance full of determination.

Man of the Match: Luke Black