Dominant Road remain top of the table
HINCKLEY’S Leicester Road FC beat the arctic weather and their opponents Bolehall Swifts 2-0 to remain top of the Midlands Football League Division 1 writes Greg Rees.
Their seventh successive win was a dominant display from start to finish and with a timely goal in each half their opponents from Tamworth barely troubled LRFC keeper Will Highland all game.
Straight from the off it was all Leicester Road with Nuno Gomes having two decent chances in the first seven minutes – first he was put clean through but the Bolehall keeper smothered well and then the livewire striker flashed a rasping shot just past the far post.
On 10 minutes great work down the left from Harry Solomons found Gomes again, but he just couldn’t finish off the inviting cross.
The Road were oozing confidence though and on 15 minutes a clever free kick was played quickly into Solomons, but at full stretch he could only touch it wide.
Then on 21 minutes another lovely flowing team move created a second chance for Solomons but it was well saved.
Despite the cold, LRFC’s pass and move football was very easy on the eye and on 26 minutes a sweeping counter attack down the right put in overlapping full back Jarred Acton but he shot just wide.
So it continued, with LRFC peppering the Bolehall Swifts goal and on 38 minutes it looked like the breakthrough that the Road deserved, but Jake Holt’s powerful goal bound effort was deflected just wide.
However, on 42 minutes LRFC made it count when a Holt corner was headed against the bar by Gomes with the keeper well beaten, but cen- tre back Josh Unsworth was on hand to power the rebound in past a static defence.
Into first half injury time there was still time for a teasing cross from Sam Munton to find Gomes unmarked, but he fired just over from point blank range.
So, 1-0 at the break and a very good team performance - that probably deserved more of a lead.
LRFC went for the jugular again straight from the kick off and on 52 minutes Munton side footed in the rebound from Gomes’ stinging shot, but as the Road celebrated there was a very late offside flag.
Then on 61 minutes Gomes did beat the offside trap, but couldn’t quite get it past the scrambling keeper.
A minute later, however, Holt’s powerful drive was too hot to handle for the Bolehall stopper and this time his sweet strike made it 2-0 and comfortable now for the Road.
Holt was replaced by Jetmir Esso on 75 minutes, but the hosts saw out the rest of the game easy enough, sill with time for a few half chances, but apart from an opportunity missed to improve their goal difference it was another very convincing performance.