Loughborough Uni FC pay the price for first half defensive errors

FA CUP PRELIMINARY ROUND

MALTBY MAIN 4 LOUGHBOROUGH UNI FC 1 LOUGHBOROUGH Uni FC suffered their first defeat in all competitions at the hands of NCEL Premier Division Side Maltby Main.

The two sides faced each other in the FA Cup Preliminary Round on a hot Saturday afternoon in South Yorkshire with the Scholars under pressure with Maltby playing down the slope.

After seeing out an early spell of pressure in the first 10 minutes the Scholars were hoping to have a positive spell on the ball but when Silva was dispossessed on 13 minutes Maltby made the most of the regain with Ant Wilson picking up the ball on the edge of the area and wrong footing Stallan in the Scholars goal.

Maltby looked for a quick second and soon doubled their lead - a poor corner into the box was cleared with ease to Connor Smith who then lost possession on the edge of the area for Maltby to counter. The initial counter was dealt with by but a loose pass into the centre of the pitch allowed Maltby to attack again with a ball over the top for Aaron Martin who slotted home on the angle on 21 minutes.

The game got worse for the Scholars when on 29 minutes Martin got his second when he had the freedom of the 6 yard box from a corner and with half time only four minutes away the Scholars went 4-0 down when Aaron Martin sealed a first half hat trick from the penalty spot.

After the break Loughborough began to dominate play but were rarely able to get a shot away to test the Maltby keeper.

The introduction of Dan Collins midway through the half seemed to inject some liveliness into the away side and on 71 minutes Will Dawes bundled the ball over the line after Smith’s header was originally blocked on the line.

But Maltby were able to see the game out for a deserved victory and the Scholars will now look to bounce back with an FA Vase fixture on Friday night away to Aylestone Park.