Holwell fail to take chances!

Match Report Sat 1st Dec Holwell 1 Blaby & Whetstone 4
Holwell started strongly enough showing good intent and could have gone ahead very quickly but for a mis – connect between between Mooney and Kirkby with the chance spurned.

However this good work was undone on only 7mins by yet another poor defensive error with all letting the ball run through where Anastari had the easiest of chances ghosting in at the back post to open the score for Blaby.

The home midfield seemed to be playing deep and this was allowing Blaby to come on to the defence putting the home side under a lot of pressure.
But Holwell picked themselves up, and started to get to grips with the game and on 14mins Liam Chapman showed a great burst of pace getting in behind the defence to go one on one with keeper Lue Hall and the keeper did well to smother the goal bound shot. Holwell were on top for the next for the next 25mins and were beginning to make some good openings and on 24mins Mooney come closest to bring the game level when his header from a Michael Stevenson cross just skimmed the bar. Again Holwell had a great chance on 35mins when Kirkby dribbled past three defenders to get a shot away and again Hall managed to get a touch on the ball to put it wide. The chances were coming but not being taken!
On 39mins the home side again didn’t clear their lines and Anastari was given two chances to shoot at goal and on the second rebound Blaby’s Liam Read scored to put the visitors two up.

It was hard to understand how Holwell had nothing to show for their hard work as for most of the first half it was Holwell that was pressuring but an inspired performance by Luke Hall in the visitors goal was keeping what Holwell had to offer at bay.

And so it continued in the second half when after only two mins Holwell won a corner and again Hall managed to pull of a great save. It was beginning to look like one of those days and three minutes later Holwell went further behind when Leon Doughty followed in on a loose ball to put Blaby three up.

To their credit Holwell got back into the game within a couple of minutes when Jay Kirkby scored on 53mins after a cross from Ben Smedley. Again Holwell got back on top and within a minute missed yet another chance to score when Mooney broke into the box and his shot was saved by Hall.

Holwell tried to get back on top but had left themselves a mountain to climb and chances were not taken. Fray sent in a great cross on 62mins but just too close to the keeper.

Anastari had been by far the better of the attackers for Blaby and he crowned a good display with his second on 65mins when after beating Hibbitt on the edge of the box he curled his shot from the edge of the eighteen yard box past Cragg into the bottom left corner of the goal.
Holwell threw on Bitmead, Ridout and new boy Hodgkinson for Smedley, Fray and Foster but it was too late and they were unable to make a difference.

Unfortunately man of the match had to be the visitors keeper Luke Hall who even in the last minute denied Holwell with a one handed save to tip a shot over the bar when he had no right to get to it.