Cleethorpes Town 6 Stamford 0

The Owls recorded their most convincing win of the whole campaign on Saturday afternoon, thrashing county rivals Stamford 6-0. A hat-trick from Scott Vernon led the way. The season’s leading scorer was assisted by two from Brody Robertson and an Alex Flett strike. The triumph sent the vast majority of another 300+ gate into the Summer break in fine spirits.

Craig Disley was recalled for the final game of his loan spell from Alfreton in place of Lewis Collins. The other change from the Lincoln fixture saw Scott Vernon come in for Danny North. Dave Smith set his side up in a 4-3-3 formation, as follows:

Goal: Theo Richardson
Defence: Tim Lowe, Paul Walker, Oli Donald, Jon Oglesby
Midfield: Jack Richardson, Alex Flett (captain), Craig Disley
Attack: Brody Robertson, Scott Vernon, Josh Batty

Subs: Lewis Collins, Danny North, Loz McKay, Jack Boswell, Sam Topliss

The spectators had barely had time to take up their positions on a blustery day before the Owls raced into a 2-goal lead.

Clee went straight on the offensive and, with just 45 seconds on the clock, Scott Vernon rocketed a volley from the edge of the area into the corner of the net. Less than two further minutes had elapsed before the striker recorded his 26th goal for the Owls, this time lobbing stopper Haystead.

Fair to say that it was dream start and the home side continued to harry a stunned Stamford outfit. However, the Daniels did not concede further and they gradually gained something of a foothold. Disley was required to block bravely in the 16th minute and then Lowe made a superb tackle to dispossess Brown-Hill.

Despite these half-chances for the visitors, it was the Owls who remained in the ascendant and Batty went close after being put through by Robertson. The other best moment before the players headed for the dressing rooms saw Vernon nearly sniff-out another, but a defender did well to do enough to put the dangerous striker off.

HT Cleethorpes Town 2 (Vernon 1, 3) Stamford 0

It was all fairly low-key for the first 15 after the interval, with the Owls content to manage their lead and Stamford not possessing enough firepower to trouble Clee’s commanding backline. The highlight being a surging run from midfield by Richardson.

With the clock ticking beyond the hour, Craig Disley received a nice ovation as he left the field for what could be his final time in a Clee shirt. Lewis Collins was the replacement.

The rain had become torrential and, with a strong wind as well, people could be forgiven for thinking that the season would meander to a close. Not a bit of it though! Roared on by the Owl Army, who had been in fine voice throughout, Clee manufactured a 4-goal blitz to both overwhelm the Daniels and put down an early marker for 2019/20.

On 70 minutes, central defender Donald got well forward to direct a header into the danger-zone. Brody Robertson challenged with a defender and the ball ended up in the net. A suspicion of an own-goal, but both the Stamford player and the striker would have been pleased to subsequently hear that the effort was credited to Robertson.

Stamford’s resistance had been totally broken and every attack looked likely to produce further joy for a rampant Clee. Scott Vernon, who had gone close to adding to his tally on a few occasions, claimed his hat-trick on 72 minutes from close range. There was to be further misery for the beleaguered visitors a short time later, when captain Alex Flett joined the party by capping an excellent individual display with a goal.

During this flurry of action, Dave Smith made his final two substitutions. Danny North and Sam Topliss were introduced for Josh Batty and Tim Lowe respectively.

There was still time left for the faithful to savour the Owls’ 129th and final goal of an entertaining 2018/19 season. In an action replay of earlier, Donald headed across the 6-yard box and Brody Robertson was on hand to supply the finishing touch.

At the end, there was a warm appreciation of the players and management from the fans in the Buildbase Stand. The result meant that the Owls had finished 7th in a highly competitive division, the highest ever-position attained in the non-league pyramid.

FT Cleethorpes Town 6 (Vernon 1, 3, 72, Robertson 70, 85, Flett 76) Stamford 0 Attendance: 302

That’s it then for the 2018/19 season and not a bad way to finish!! Six goals and a clean sheet – it was one of our most complete shows of the year.

Man-of-the-match for me has to be Scott Vernon. Some of you will know that I was critical of a few of Scott’s early displays. However, I am absolutely delighted to have been proved wrong, 27 goals in 43 appearances is an excellent return – well played! I also thought Alex Flett stood out yesterday.

So, preparation is already going on behind the scenes for our next campaign, which is almost certain to be in the newly-titled Evostik South-East. Exact make-up of the 20 teams is likely to be released by the FA sometime in May. To give you an idea, outfits such as Market Drayton Town and Newcastle Town will be back on the agenda. Therefore, a few journeys down to the West Midlands but, overall, I expect the playing standard to be slightly “easier” than this year – I certainly hope so anyway!!

Three dates for your diaries:

Saturday 4th May (4 – 7pm) – Senior Presentation at the Linden. All welcome – it is sure to be an enjoyable afternoon, as we take time to reflect on a successful season;
Saturday 6th July – this is likely to be the start of our pre-season fixtures. Keep a close eye on the website and social media for details. We will issue further information as matches become confirmed;
Saturday 17th August – 2019/20 Evostik season starts.

Finally, before I go to lie down in a darkened room for a couple of months(!), I would like to say a big thank you to everyone. I hope you have enjoyed my reports and twitter coverage. Also, give yourself a big round of applause for your unwavering support for the Owls – win, lose or draw!

Have a great Summer break and…

UP THE OWLS!