Six of the best for LRFC on travels
HINCKLEY’S Leicester Road FC earned an emphatic 6-0 away win at Stapenhill FC in Burtonon-Trent – their fifth MFL victory on the trot!
In what was a dominant display from start to finish, there was a brace for striker Matty Langham (that’s 14 already this season), plus goals apiece for Jordan Burrows, Joseph Lyne, Amarvir Sandhu and an opening own goal.
It was a scrappy start with Stapenhill getting two efforts in early that went high and wide, but LRFC swiftly grabbed the initiative and didn’t let up. On 16 mins Langham was through and about to pull the trigger but had it nicked off his toe. Then on 18 minutes a well worked set play routine saw Burrows fire across and it was deflected in off a defender to make it 1-0.
Callum Rudd then headed just over from a corner on 20 minutes and a minute later Road stopper Will Highland had his only real meaningful save of the match to make as he kept out a stinging shot low down to his left.
Sandhu came to the forefront and forced the home keeper into an excellent save with a rasping drive and minutes later stung the keeper’s hands again, when he perhaps would have been better squaring the ball to an unmarked Nuno Gomes. He quickly made amends, however, on 28 minutes when he beat his full back and put in a teasing cross to the far post where Langham volleyed goal bound and it flicked off Burrows into the top
Hinckley Times Sport: Call 01455 891965 or email hinckleytimes@ reachplc.com £1.10p corner to double the lead.
Almost from the restart it was 3-0 as Gomes twice closed down well and having won the ball he fed Burrows, who steered onto Lyne and he slotted it calmly past the keeper. On 39 minutes good approach play down the left saw Lyne set up Sandhu, but he screwed his shot wide, and just before half time Langham turned his marker inside out to lay it on a plate for Burrows, but his effort was just the wrong side of the post.
Leicester Road began the second half brightly – this time with the wind – and on 50 minutes Lyne had a 20 yard screamer just tipped over the bar. Sandhu was again causing the home defence problems with his mazy runs and on 63 minutes he got on the end of a floated ball down the left wing, cut back inside his man and rifled his shot into the far corner for a 4-0 lead.
On 65 minutes Gomes cleverly played Sandhu in again, with the Stapenhill keeper making a last ditch reflex save to deny him a second. The rebound looped up to Sandhu as he was picking himself up of the turf, but his attempted lob header back over the keeper just fell short.
Three minutes later Langham was also denied by a desperate clearance, but he got his opener on 70 minutes when expertly stroking home a penalty awarded after Sandhu was tripped as he dribbled dangerously into the box. With LRFC five goals to the good and his work done, Sandhu was immediately replaced by Foday Nabay and the rangy midfielder (known for his craft and guile) instantly split the defence with a cute pass for Gomes, but he was well foiled by the Stapenhill keeper.
Highland in the LRFC net had a rare shot to save on 79 mins, but three minutes later it was 6-0 when Nabay’s probing long ball was picked up by Langham and he rounded the keeper to score from a tight angle and bag a well deserved double.
LRFC manager Neil Lyne replaced Langham and Lyne with youngsters Owen Whitehouse and Ben Humphreys to see out the game and give them more valuable first team minutes – and the latter almost opened his account on 87 minutes with a strong header that shaved the bar from a pinpoint Simon Alcott cross.
Starting X1: Highland, Alcott, Earls ©, Rudd, Harrison, Lyne, Charles, Burrows, Gomes, Sandhu, Langham. Subs: Blewitt (GK), Humphreys, Nabay, Whitehouse.