By Neil Winsor
Photograph supplied by Rob Barraclough
Match Sponsor - Bottesford Barmy Army
Photograph - Jacob Fenton netted twice for Bottesford in their 3-2 home win over Albion Sports yesterday afternoon

BOTTESFORD Town got their NCEL Premier Division campaign off to a winning start yesterday afternoon, despite making hard work of Albion Sports

The home side had comfortably seen out the first period as they went into the break with a two goal advantage, courtesy of captain Sam O'Malley's scorching opener, and a Jacob Fenton penalty

The visitors upped the ante though in the second period and Reece Farnhill reduced the deficit on 64 minutes, albeit for three minutes before Fenton's mazy run saw him drill home Bottesford's third, before Roy Fogarty again made things nervy with sixteen minutes to play.

After a mixed bag in terms of results during pre-season, there was little in the way of expectation or knowledge on how the game would go.

Bottesford manager John Corbett gave a trio of debuts as he was missing a number of first team regulars.

Martin Pembleton remains a long term absentee, but encouraging signs suggest he may return before the end of 2019, whilst Jack Bowskin (knee), Lee Ridley and Tom Johnson were also missing, as was Dayle Hutson.

Former Hall Road Rangers and Grimsby Town man, Sam O'Malley lined up at centre-half as the 23 year old also took the captain's armband, he was partnered by a man of the match performance from Kieran McCaffrey whilst there was also a return for Tom Spall at right back.

Corbett also included goalkeeper David Birch, a former NCEL Premier Division winner with Cleethorpes Town as well as Portuguese wing-man Paulo Bunze who has impressed for The Poachers in pre-season.

Young sixteen year old midfield Mason Ellender, another player who has impressed in pre-season was amongst the five Bottesford substitutes.

It was the experience of Wayne Graves though that registered the first shot on goal in the early minutes, darting inside from the left before blazing high and wide of the Albion goal, after some fine work by Danny Boulton.

The hosts started extremely brightly as they got out the blocks better then their visitors.

They took the lead early on, when just four minutes into his league debut O'Malley drilled an unstoppable shot into the net from distance, smashing his volley into the corner.

Albion threatened fleetingly in the first period and Birch had to make a smart save to deny an Albion attack to keep his side in the lead.

Bottesford also looked lively out wide but failed to hit the mark with a number of over-hit crosses, and this was compounded with a wasted free kick in an excellent position.

Boulton was pole axed on the edge of the Albion penalty area, after showing nice control, with his back to goal, but from a central position the free kick floated harmlessly over the crossbar.

It was from the right flank though that Bottesford doubled their lead on 27 minutes.

The persistent work of Paulo Bunze saw him hacked down inside the area at the by-line and referee Jack Forder showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

It was left to the young striker Jacob Fenton to cooly despatch the penalty to leave the hosts very much in the ascendancy, and seemingly strolling to what looked like a comfortable victory.

The main talking point of the first half though came when Bottesford were adament they should have had another penalty.

Danny Boulton got his body in between the ball and his marker and with the ball pumped high into the penalty area, he was seemingly scythed down from behind, however on this occasion the referee waved away the protests.

The visitors came out five minutes earlier then their hosts to start the second half and they will be pleased with how they responded in the second half.

Bottesford though with the pace and power of the likes of Bunze, Boulton and Fenton as well as the tiresome running of both Henry Cook and Wayne Graves would always prove a threat on the break.

Boulton would make way for Ellender though on 62 minutes, with the young midfielder making his senior team debut at just sixteen years of age, a positive sign of the fine work been carried out in the club's younger age groups.

Two minutes later though, Albion's pressure since the break finally reaped it's reward as Reece Farnhill converted well to leave Birch no chance from close range.

It seemed the final thirty minutes would prove a nervy time, with the hosts potentially dropping deeper as the game went on, to counter Albion's pacy attack.

They broke clear though on 67 minutes with a sweeping counter attack led, and scored by Fenton.

As he received the ball just shy of halfway on the left flank he jinked past his defender and into the penalty area before drilling into the corner to restore Bottesford's two goal cushion.

The hosts did manage to miss a good chance shortly after.

A cross to the far post almost found O'Malley, however a last ditch deflection took the ball away from the skipper and he was unable to adjust and could only handle the ball.

With the score at 3-1 and 20 minutes to play, it would have been easy to forgive those who believed Fenton's second goal of the afternoon would prove to be the final act, however a minute after Robbie Leaning replaced winger Nathan Smith, Albion again struck back.

Roy Fogarty managed to squeeze his way through and finished well to again leave the clash on a knife edge with sixteen minutes still to play.

Albion Sports threw everything at their hosts in the final stages to try and record an equaliser.

Their best chance saw them rattle the crossbar with another header and David Birch had to be brave to punch clear a dangerous looking ball into the box, however the tireless running of Graves, Ellender, Cook and Leaning provided great protection for the back four, with the latter taking a nasty blow to the head deep in added time.

After four and a half added minutes though Jack Forder called time on a satisfying afternoon as attention now switches to the FA Cup next weekend and the visit of Long Eaton United.

Man of the Match (Chosen By Bottesford Barmy Army) - Kieran McCaffrey
Slotted in at centre half extremely well, and alongside Sam O'Malley cleared the majority of the threat posed by the visitors, especially in the final twenty minutes.

The teams
BOTTESFORD TOWN

1. David Birch
2. Thomas Spall
3. Jack Cross
4. Kieran McCaffrey
5. Sam O'Malley (captain)
6. Henry Cook
7. Paulo Bunze
8. Wayne Graves
9. Jacob Fenton
10. Danny Boulton
11. Nathan Smith

Substitutes
12. Chris Bridge
15. Robbie Leaning (for Smith 73)
16. Luke Robinson
17. Abdullah Malkdi (for Bunze 77)
18. Mason Ellender (for Boulton 62)

ALBION SPORTS
1. James Beck
2. Dylan Parr
3. Bruce Ferando
4. Christopher Fairhurst
5. Sam Denton (captain)
6. Sam Pashley
7. Jake Maltby
8. Roy Fogarty
9. Alex Foord
10. Reece Farnhill
11. Joe Barden

Substitutes
12. Dillon Hollinger
14. Jack Alton
15. Kamron Basi
16. Jonathan Daniel
17. Shani Qayum

VIEW FROM THE PRESS BOX - By Neil Winsor
Forget when people play down the importance of an opening day win - it's massive, not only for confidence but it also relieves pressure which can build up the longer you wait for that maiden three points
For the most point of the first half, we were extremely comfortable, maybe a little too comfortable going into the break 2-0 up.
Sam O'Malley and Jacob Fenton took their goals well and both will be key figures in the squad as the season develops.
Credit goes to Albion Sports though who made a real fight of it in the second half and through a combination of them upping the tempo and us taking our foot off the gas, these factors have made this one a little more nervy then perhaps it should have been.
Who am I to complain though?
Three points from the opening fixture tells its own story and although it is still extremely early in the season, it's a fine start in terms of results.

Up Next - Long Eaton United, FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round, Saturday August 10, Birkdale Park, Kick off 3pm
Bottesford Town turn their attention to a potential cup run when they face Long Eaton United in the Extra Preliminary Round of the FA Cup.
John Corbett's side may be six rounds away from the First Round proper, but the early qualifying rounds can be extremely lucrative for a side who puts a run together and although the dizzy heights of the first round proper are highly unlikely, the FA Cup can still be extremely beneficial to both clubs in terms of finances.
Thomas Johnson and Dayle Hutson could both return for Bottesford against their Midlands Premier Division counterparts, who are incidentally managed by former Scarborough Athletic and AFC Mansfield boss Rudy Funk.
Long Eaton drew their opening game of the league season, and face a further league test on Tuesday night, whereby Bottesford are without a midweek fixture.
The winners of the tie will progress to face either South Normanton Athletic or Selston in a home contest, however should the game be level it will be replayed the following Tuesday.