Confidence in our progress well founded
SINCE the draw for the cup was made I had a feeling that we’d win Saturday’s tie, even though Corby have been going great in their league I thought we’d have the fire power to ease through.
The 3-0 scoreline didn’t do the performance any justice, it could quite easily have been five or six if the chances we created had been taken.
There were no real surprises in the starting line up, Jamie Stott, weirdly being allowed to play by parent club Oldham, was the only change after two excellent away wins.
Jamie slotted right into position next to Ash Palmer and the two of them looked more settled than any other pairing we’ve seen all season in the centre of defence, but they had very little to do really as the vast majority of play was at the other end of the pitch.
We dominated the game. One statistic summed the afternoon up – we had 21 attempts on goal to their four. If only we’d been more clinical we could have had the game sown up by half time.
It was the best 0-0 demolition I’ve seen in years but that was the way the first half finished and then Jim did what Jim does best, Frank Mulhern comes on and along with the first half sub, Matty Warburton, changes the game and we run riot.
The pace was upped, the passing got crisper and the domination became a strangle hold on the visitors goal.
The first came via the glancing head of Warburton after we’d had a succession of corners, Sam Walker and Adam Thomas supplied cross after cross and it was no real surprise when the opening goal arrived.
We didn’t have to wait too long for the second as Mulhern broke the Steelmen’s high defensive line and caught hold of a delightfully placed pass from Scott Duxbury and slotted home from the edge of the box to ease any worries among the faithful.
Now I’ve followed County all my life and to be honest I can’t relax until we have a three-goal lead, even then I’ve known us throw it all away on more than one occasion so when Frank bagged his second in an exact copy of his first I was in ecstasy.
Another 15K in the bank, a third win on the trot and more importantly the team played some beautiful, beautiful football.