Holwell get in the Festive Mood a bit too early!

Holwell hard started well with decent pressure and could have gone ahead within a minute after a great cross from Hallows just eluded both Waddell and Freckingham in the centre.
However it was Anstey who broke from that attack to mount a swift move of their own down the right with Rudkin sending in a low cross which was cleared out only as far as Darren Taylor who fired in a shot under Alex Brown in goal to put the visitors one up.
The game developed into a scrappy encounter with neither team able to get the ball under control and maintain pressure. Holwell were trying to play football whereas Anstey were keen to play a long ball out of defence relying on the front runners to pressure the defence.
Holwell were finding good space down the left wing with Hallows, Wallis and Freckingham keeping Anstey busy. Anstey were becoming frustrated that Holwell seemed to be winning a lot of the ball in midfield and on 17mins Alexander was spoken to at length by referee Marriott after a crunching tackle on Chris Hibbitt.
Still the left side looked Holwell’s best bet for success and Wallis and Hallows were providing good crosses for the Holwell forwards but none were being finished to bring Holwell level.
Anstey continued to attack on the break and on 30 mins Alex Brown pulled off a great save after James Edmonds had sent in a powerful shot at goal.
Holwell came very close to levelling the match right on half time when the ball broke to Chris Hibbitt who fired in what looked like a certain goal only for keeper Joyce to bring off an instinctive save. This was followed up by Kyle Waddell who sent in another shot that looked goal bound only for keeper Joyce to somehow keep that out also.
Half Time 0-1

The home crowd were ready for the second half as it looked as though Holwell had began to get on top at the end of the first period. However it was Anstey that looked more up for the fight and again Alex Brown was called upon to save well after a low cross was met by Wade Ball. Anstey continued to press and went further ahead again with only three minutes gone after the break when a shot was palmed back out by the Holwell keeper, instead of over the bar to safety, landing at the feet of Shane Gibbs who fired the ball into the net.
Holwell didn’t seem to have any answers at this stage with Anstey upping their work rate and on 55mins Nomads won a free kick on the right after Hibbitt had been adjudged to have fouled Gibbs. Darren Taylor took the free kick and it found its way into the top corner of Brown’s goal for number three.
The game was all but finished at this point. Manager Daws tried to ring the changes as the half wore on by bringing on Foster, Plummer and Smedley for Waddell, Wallis and Freckingham but there was nothing the substitutes could do to change the outcome.
The early festive give away was completed on 89 minutes when Taylor again slipped his marker to ghost in at the back post, when all thought the ball was going out, and poke the ball over the line for number four and complete his hat-trick.
Full Time score Holwell 0 – Anstey Nomads 4 Attendance 70