Old Bolts 6 Christian 2, Mitchell, Collings 2, Hardwidge
Praire Utd 1
A second successive mauling of Prairie Utd earned Old Bolts another vital 3 points, and saw the A–team climb to the heady position of 7th in the league table.
Fresh from the 9-2 victory against Prairie 2 weekends previously, Bolts fielded a relatively unchanged line-up as Craig Campbell & Damon Jordan came in for Neasham & Mullins at centre back & central midfield respectively.
The early exchanges saw the A-team faced by a much more organised & determined Prairie side, at least initially anyway. Either side could have perhaps taken the lead early on, as off-side traps were tested, although both defences held firm & Hopkins in the Bolts goal was able mop up behind the back four.
Prairie’s quick wingers & sharp forward line were their best feature & could have troubled Bolts, but good tracking back from Beardall & Collings out wide, & alert defending from Felgate & Hulton at full back kept the threat under control. As the first half progressed Bolts began to gain a foot-hold in central midfield; Jack Christian & Damon Jordan out-manoeuvring Prairie’s evidently less mobile opponents. Christian particularly found space and made good runs in forward positions, one of which was found by a 50 yard ping from right back Felgate. Christian latched onto the long pass, & held off a couple of defenders to dink past the onrushing goalkeeper; 1-0 to Bolts after 20 minutes as the nervy deadlock was broken.
With the score-line at 1-0 Prairie immediately responded by upping their tempo & attacking once again down the flanks. Their left winger dribbled at pace with the ball, but was held up well & a poor touch saw him run into a cul-de-sac, with Craig Campbell moving across from the centre to make an easy interception into touch. However, the frustrated opposition player lunged at knee height & well over the top off the ball, catching Campbell a good half a second after the ball had gone. Campbell could not continue, leaving the ground by ambulance with a dislocated knee. With everyone understandably concerned for Craig, this could have spelled disaster for Bolts – especially as there was no obvious cover for centre back. Necessity saw Damon Jordan pushed there (because he was the tallest) & Tim Hayden-Clark come on as substitute in centre-mid. Any fears, however, were proved unfounded as both players slotted in to great effect; Jordan looked comfortable at the heart of defence, his pace easily matching Prairie’s forwards, and Tim worked tirelessly to hustle and harass their midfield.
As Bolts adjusted to the personnel changes, good interplay down the left touchline by Beardall and Hardwidge allowed the latter to cut back & arrow a dipping cross into the box, the attacking Jack Christian slipped his marker to plant a bullet header past the keeper from six yards; 2-0 at half time & Bolts looking comfortable.
The A-Team came out of the traps again aggressively in the second half, denying Prairie the time to mount any kind of response – & less than 10 minutes had passed when Collings evaded their left back to pick out the awaiting Mitchell who coolly side-foot finished, first time from 12 yards out; 3-0. The onslaught continued & a fourth was inevitably added shortly afterwards; Hardwidge again naturally gravitating from his striker’s position towards the left wing, found space to deliver an inch perfect cross to Collings on the back post – who gratefully controlled & poked the ball past the keeper from close range; 4-0 up & dominating the game.
Prairie could now do little to quell Bolts’ attacks & looked increasingly nervous in their own half. With around 20 minutes remaining Collings caught a Prairie defender napping, and dispossessed him just inside their penalty area down the right channel; a jink past another defender, a touch forward, and rasping shot into the far top corner gave the A-Team a 5-0 lead – & surely a contender for goal of the season?
Into the last 15 minutes Bolts had already sewn up the fixture and were looking likely to add a sixth. However, perhaps due to overconfidence or complacency, a lack of concentration in midfield allowed a quick free quick to develop unchallenged 25 yards out. Prairie’s rotund centre mid had time to unleash a pile driver that crashed back off the post, Hopkins got fingertips to it but was helpless as their completely unmarked left winger tapped in the rebound; 5-1.
To concede such a sloppy goal so late on annoyed the capacity home crowd (Vinny’s granddad & Chopper), and they demanded a response, which was duly answered; Tim Hayden-Clark received the ball on the right, exchanged a delightful one-two round the back of the defence with Mitchell, and from the by-line fizzed a ball across the face of goal that Hardwidge bundled over the line for 6-1 & easily the best move of the game.
Bolts fully deserved the victory & could have scored more. The defence, marshalled by Baz Ishaque looked its most solid for a long time, and the attacking play was dangerous & effective. Special mentions must go to Damo Jordan & Tim Hayden-Clark who were both key to the victory despite playing in unfamiliar positions. The only sour note was the injury to Craig Campbell, who will hopefully make a full recovery as soon as possible. The A-Team now almost have survival in their own hands with back to back fixtures against strugglers Accrington in the coming weeks & this result can’t do their chances any harm!