Renishaw FC proved Stone Close was the place to be if you want goals as they came out on top of a nine goal thriller against SJR Worksop in the Central Midlands League North Division. The home side were totally dominant in the first half, cantering into a 4-0 lead. However, they were made to survive a late onslaught from the visitors, clinging on for a 5-4 success and all this with just ten men due to a sin bin incident! The win marked the fledgling club’s second of the season ahead of their League Cup visit to Glapwell next weekend.
SJR got into their stride in the opening minute of the game. Dan Wilshire looked to have the simple task of putting the ball into the net but was denied by the outstretched leg of Kane Gregory clearing the ball off the line.
Veteran playmaker James Colliver fired just over for Renishaw five minutes later and that started a procession for the home side for the remainder of the half.
On 18 minutes, Jordan Willis was brought down on the edge of the area but rather than waiting for the referee’s whistle, he scrambled to his feet and squeezed his shot past Sam Jepson in the SJR goal to make it 1-0.
Renishaw had to wait a further ten minutes for their second. A ball in from the right hand side was nodded down by Savage into the path of Martyn Lee, who stabbed home from close range for the second.
The third came on 31 minutes when the referee spotted an infringement in the area and skipper Jimmy Savage stepped up to fire the penalty to Jepson’s right to make it 3-0.
Straight from the restart, Renishaw regained possession from SJR Worksop, allowing Lee to claim his second of the half. Four nil by half time looked to have sewn the game up but there was plenty more to come in the second period.
Lee almost bundled the ball home three minutes after the restart but was thwarted by the referee in the early stages of the second half.
SJR made two substitutions and came out with a greater sense of purpose so it was no surprise when they pulled one back on 51 minutes. The Renishaw defence got out-muscled; the ball falling to Jaden Thackeray, who made no mistake from 12 yards out.
The game should have been dead and buried in the 63rd minute. Lee raced up the left flank and squared to Chris Savage with the outside of his boot. Savage smashed the ball into the top corner from the edge of the area and Renishaw looked untouchable at 5-1.
SJR began to throw the proverbial kitchen sink at the game as it moved into the final ten minutes. An inswinging free kick from the right hand side was headed home relatively unchallenged by Ben Brown at 5-2.
A frantic five minutes signalled the end of an entertaining encounter. Renishaw’s Christian Beaumont was sent to the dug out for a sin bin offence and the home side almost succumbed to some intense pressure.
Firstly, the Renishaw defence was looking to the linesman for a flag to signal offside but it wasn’t forthcoming as Lovett slipped through and made it 5-3 from six yards out.
Then, one minute into added time, with the Renishaw defence at sixes and sevens, Thackeray claimed his second of the game from close range to set up a nervy few minutes with the score at 5-4.
Marshalled by eventual man of the match Colliver, Renishaw weathered the late onslaught to claim their second win on the bounce and now move on to a League Cup second round tie away at Division One North side Glapwell next Saturday.
Renishaw: Booth, Beaumont, Cheetham, Willis, Gregory, Blakemore, Savage J, Colliver, Lee, Savage C, Neath. Subs: Whittaker, O’Brien, Johnson, Moss, Gallagher.
SJR Worksop: Jepson, Barnett, Boyd, Runnow, Kenny, Wesley, Thompson, Brown, Wilshire, Mullen, Thackeray. Subs: Dolby, Cocker, Lovett, Bonsor, Guest.
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