Snow show for Acton against Offa

In a hugely anticipated and competitive match, Offa were in control from start to finish. The hosts started brightly, in arctic conditions at the Coalpit. Inch perfect diagonal passes from Captain Phil Stott were bamboozling Acton left back Andy Rutter and top scorer/bald talisman James Gibney found himself in on goal early on, although he was thwarted by the keeper.

The first half continued in the same manner, as the work of Inbred Alun, Boxer and Sam Price dominated the Acton midfield as they had no answer for our work rate. However, we entered the break at 0-0.

The second half continued at the same pace. The reds defended confidently, Chris Hewitt in particular showing winger Alistair Gibson who was boss, as he moved over to the Acton side of the pitch for the second 45. The deserved breakthrough came 10 minutes after the break. A free kick was delivered with pace and curl from the left hand side of the pitch. It was met on the volley by Jordan Hollingsworth, who slammed the ball home with his left foot into the corner of the net, with the Acton defenders stood like statues. Protests ensued for offside, although he clearly was not.

Another ten minutes passed; Kurt Isaac was continuing to cause havoc in the Acton backline. It was a combination of hard work from our front three, which caused the second and decisive goal. Pressing from Ramone and Kurt forced former captain Sean Merryweather into a desperate back pass on a bumpy surface. The keeper smashed the ball into James Gibney, who then calmly rounded the onrushing keeper to slot into an empty net.

Offa controlled the remainder of the game with ease, as goalkeeper Lewis Hallam was redundant. Great to see Mark Jones back as he came on to slow down the tempo of the game. Also a late cameo from Lee Bent showed his class.

A special mention goes to Rob Darlington, someone who trains each week and is a superb player to have around the squad, who will get his chance in the coming weeks. With Seb Kidd not breaking sweat against his former team, Offa strolled a 2-0 victory.

It was a fantastic performance from everyone in red. Matt Oddie said afterwards, “Great win against our arch rivals today. After all the talk, having taken a lot of last seasons squad it meant a lot to me and Whalley after the challenges we had pre season! Another semi final to look forward to.”

With so many fantastic performances out there today it was too difficult to select a man of the match. Offa will look to continue this form and go another winning streak as they travel the short distance to Bellvue next weekend for another local derby.

Match Report by Jason Whalley