Saturday we welcomed Clipstone FC to The Transcare Arena as we officially reached the half way mark in the United Counties League season. With mother nature against us, our pitch & drainage defied all odds & withheld the days of constant rain meaning, GAME ON!

The first half action was fairly end to end with both sides looking to start quick. The away side registered a couple of long range efforts which were never troubling skipper Ross Etheridge. Josh Pickering was bright again down the right, linking up with Mason Booth-Davis however they couldn't find the break through. On the 26th minute mark, Billy Whitehead latched onto a Clipstone miss kick instantly, firing a powerful strike through the keeper & into the back of the net to put The Shiners 1-0 up at the break.

Just 2 minutes into the second half, it was Billy Whitehead once again who doubled his tally with another good finish to double our lead in the rain. Credit to the away side who despite being 2 down instantly after the half time break, they kept going & going. New signing Ross Hardy made his debut from the bench replacing Brendon Tuckwood at right back. Marc Bright also returned from injury off the bench to get some minutes & match sharpness. Albie White, Ewan McKenna & 16 year old Liam Morris also all coming on too. The game became very scrappy with the conditions definitely playing a part in that with wind, plenty of rain & a slick surface, tackles were flying in all over the pitch. In the 82nd minute the away side grabbed a goal from nowhere seeing a very nervy last 10 minutes for The Shiners to hang on to the lead. The lads managed to weather the storm, quite literally, to wrap up another huge 3 points, taking us to 8 games unbeaten, 6 straight wins which takes us to 2nd in the table currently.

Attendance - 215 - Brilliant support from all who came, thank you very much!

MOTM was of course Billy Whitehead for his magnificent double, absolute handful for defenders! Thanks to his player sponsor Halewood, along with Debbie & Kev for sponsoring the MOTM throughout the season too.

We are back in action next Saturday as we travel to league leaders Retford FC as we look to try to stop what looks a winning machine as they're currently 16 unbeaten in the league, 11 points clear at the top with a game in hand too.

#COYS #Shiners