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Larks topple Mitres

Larks topple Mitres

Tracey Hill1 Mar 2017 - 08:41
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Lyons volley wins it for the Larks

The Larks made up for a heavy defeat at the hands of Bishops Cleeve at Plain Ham in December by battling to a win at Kayte Lane.

High winds and a difficult pitch made for limited passing football and this was always going to be one of those games where a single goal would make all the difference. The home side created more chances in the first half: Jacob Davidge was an ever-present threat and Ben John had to pull off a superb one-handed save to stop Cleeve striker Jack Watts. For a while the Larks were under the cosh and struggling to control the ball in the gusty wind. Stout defending from Matt Guy and Ed Dryden prevented the Mitres making too many inroads, and the first half ended with a flurry of end-to-end attacks which gave both sides opportunities to snatch the lead.

In the second half the visitors were playing with the wind behind them and started putting together some more convincing moves. Man of the match Jay Adams was controlling the midfield with aplomb, breaking up the Mitres' play and enabling our forward players to threaten. Ten minutes or so after the restart the Larks surged forward, Joe Raynes launched a cross from the left and captain Jamie Lyons swung round and volleyed the ball home unstoppably past Matt Wieczorek in the Mitres' goal.

The goal energised the Larks and a hatful of chances to extend the lead then went begging. Josh Egan probably had the best of these when presented with a gappy Mitres defence, and we were also denied by a goal-line clearance from a Cleeve defender. The home side's woes were only increased when Phil Bater made a double substitution with 20 minutes to play, Tom Knighton and Larks' new signing Greg Peel replacing Ben Brooks and Joe Tumelty. Both immediately made their presence felt with their strength in possession, and Greg managed to get the ball in the net on his debut with a header off a Josh Egan corner that inexplicably was flagged offside.

On balance Bishops Cleeve will probably feel somewhat relieved that the scoreline was not worse for them; the Larks, meanwhile, are to be congratulated on another gritty team performance away from home. Now let's get a win back at Plain Ham!

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