LRFC storm second half
HINCKLEY’S Leicester Road FC got back to winning ways with an emphatic 6-2 away win in Birmingham at table topping Cadbury Athletic.
A Nuno Gomes hattrick, a brace from Matty Langham plus Simon Alcott’s first goal for his new club secured the three points, along with some excellent pass-andmove football and clinical finishing.
The Road began brightly in torrential rain and their clever football belied the slippery and wet conditions as they dominated possession in the first quarter.
LRFC pressure eventually told on 39 mins when a goal-bound effort from Jack Harrison was handled on the line by Cadbury defender Dineen and he got an early bath for his misdemeanour – with Road centre forward Langham calmly dispatching the penalty for a 1-0 lead.
Credit to 10-man Cadbury though, they hung in there and on 45 mins got a huge slice of luck when a shot going well wide struck LRFC defender Harrison and left unfortunate Road keeper Will Highland stranded.
Then with an excessive 11 mins of injury time played, the home side took the lead when a snapshot flew in, giving Highland no chance.
Somehow, LRFC were behind again (2-1) in a game they had largely dominated.
LRFC came flying out of the traps second half and on 50 mins Gomes went on a magnificent run from deep and smashed the ball high into the net for a deserved equaliser. It was a 30 yard bullet that the home keeper didn’t even move for.
Almost straight away the Road went ahead when Langham pounced on a weak back pass to round the keeper, plus a desperate defender, and very casually tap it into an open net.
On 57 mins a clearly determined Gomes beat another clutch of Cadbury players to set up Joseph Lyne, only for the referee to cancel the ‘goal’ out for an allegedly offside player interfering with the keeper’s vision.
Not to be deterred however, a minute later Gomes latched onto a pinpoint through ball from Lyne to go past the keeper and make it 4-2 Leicester Road.
The Road were now rampant and on 63 mins a fine passing move involving virtually the whole team saw defender Alcott rifle it home from inside the six yard box – 5-2 LRFC.
Four mins later Gomes got his well-earned hattrick when Lyne broke in from the left and slid the ball across for the delighted striker to dispatch.
Now 6-2 it was certainly job done and LRFC saw out the rest of the game in cruise control.
Young Ben Humphreys replaced captain Marlon Walters to make his first team debut and did well, while fellow youth team graduate Will Grewcock also came on and acquitted himself admirably as well.
Humphreys, Grewcock and fellow sub George Ward have come all the way through the Leicester Road development system, starting from Under 14s, and look fine prospects indeed.
Starting X1: Highland, Alcott, Earls, Kelly, Harrison, Whitehouse, Walters ©, Charles, Lyne, Gomes, Langham. Subs: Blewitt (GK), Humphreys, Mall, Ward, Grewcock