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The referee, a middle aged gent who looked a little familiar, got the game underway and saw a slightly feisty opening. The tackling was firm but fair as both sides battled for supremacy in the middle of the park. Our first chance came around ten minutes in as we tried a corner routine which ended with an unmarked Chris Lynch heading wide from a central position. Perhaps he should have at least hit the target but it mattered not as we scored from the resultant goal kick. The keeper hit it long but it was met by the bull-like Nik Kudiersky who headed it forward to Liam Newman. The Welshman controlled it and slid a lovely ball through the defence for Dom Knowles to run on to and slot through the goalies legs.
It signalled the start of a period of dominance for us. Newman should have broke the back of the net from 6 yards after a great run and cut back by Oliver Devenney, but he leaned back and blasted over. Alex-Ray Harvey fired a snap-shot wide and Knowles maybe should have done better when fed by Devenney in the middle of the goal. At the other end a rare attack ended with a long range shot being blocked by the face of Kudiersky, as Shrimpers fans called for a penalty.
As we entered stoppage time at the end of the half a strong tackle by Chris Anderson deep inside his own half gave him possession and he surged forward, playing in Knowles who rounded the keeper and cutting it back across goal from the tightest of angles. Newman was on hand to tap in on the baby line, before coming off second best in a fight with the back of the net, though there was no serious damage.
The second half started with Morecambe looking more fired up. A good run from Harvey drew a cynical foul from a very animated defender, angered that his side surrendered possession so quickly after kick off. The free kick produced nothing other than a booking for a visiting youngster for encroachment, with the onrushing defender a little over eager. Other than this we were kept very quiet with play becoming a little scrappy from our point of view. After ten minutes of the half we conceded as the big Morecambe striker fired in a smart left foot finish with MacDonald perhaps a little poorly placed.
We looked a little shaky for the next ten minutes but regained our composure soon enough. Michael King had a deflected shot batted out by the keeper. We didn't have to wait too long for a goal though as good work by Newman around the edge of the box saw the ball break to Harvey who hit the shot without thinking and it flew in from 25 yards.
With us having reasserted ourselves we made the first of our changes as Joe Jackson replaced Liam Newman. He was soon given a chance but a little hesitancy when in the box saw him choose the option half way between cross and shot and the danger passed. We did make it four though as a deep free kick into the Morecambe area caused confusion and the ball broke to Devenney on the baby line to stab home.
More changes were made as Dave Lynch and Dean Overson came on for Chris Anderson and Chris Lynch. The game was in the bag at this point so the experience for these schoolboys will be invaluable. Knowles finished the game very strongly and was unlucky not to grab a hat trick. Firstly he had a shot saved instinctively at point blank range by the keeper. He was then released down the right hand side and won a race with the keeper to a bouncing ball on the edge of the box, lifting the ball over the advancing stopper, yet seeing it come back off the post. Michael King was on hand to smash home the rebound but you had to feel sorry for the striker whose intelligent running today deserved better luck.
The ref decided that enough was enough and drew a halt to proceedings on his Fox 40 whistle shortly after, giving us a convincing 5-1 victory.
Team:- Dan MacDonald, Dan Brown, Jake McEneaney, Nik Kudiersky, Chris Lynch (Dean Overson), Oliver Devenney, Michael King, Chris Anderson (Dave Lynch), Alex-Ray Harvey, Dom Knowles, Liam Newman (Joe Jackson).
Subs not used:- Dil Chaggar, Stef Ritchie.