30th January 2005 - Home 12.00pm KO vs. Gorleston Rangers B

Result - Lost 3-1

A pulsating match saw Mutford relinquish a one goal advantage and lose to a strong Rangers side. The match started with a last minute reshuffle due to illness to the Mutford 'keeper with Captain Clabby stepping in between the sticks. In defence were Jack on the right, Phil & Jervy in the middle and Joe on the left. In Mid-field were Johnny, Jason and Smiffy, with Jordan P, Mikey, Josh and Wheels rotating up-front.

Mutford were really fired up from the start and could have been 3 up with a good shots from Jason (over the bar), Smiffy (saved) and Mikey with the Gorleston 'keeper making an excellent save to deny Mikey, before Mutford hit the opener. A low corner from Johnny was smashed into the far corner with a first-time low volley from Joe. His delight was evident as he ran up the field with his team mates struggling to keep up, he was still running when Assistant Manager Mark shouted "Someone shut the gate, he's not going to stop".

When the game finally restarted Mutford continued to press forward, Jordan can close with some neat footwork, shortly after Mikey was clean through one on one with the keeper but steered his shot wide.

Mutford were soon made to rue their chances. Firstly a fierce Gorleston shot was pushed onto the post by Clabby, only for good following up by the Gorleston strikers to force the ball home. The second Gorleston goal was a superbly struck shot from out-side the box. Mutford were certainly being forced back at the end of the half. Just when Gorleston might have sealed the game Clabby pulled off 2 of the best saves of the season to deny Rangers.

Half-time 1-2

Mutford came out in the second half knowing that the next goal was crucial and a good start was needed, they duly obliged. Mutford pushed Gorleston all the way in the second half. A melee in the Gorleston box resulted in the ball ricocheting off the post, then a penetrating run by wheels resulting in his shot being parried into the path of josh who stubbed his shot into the athletic 'keeper.

Then Gorleston killed the game off with a good passing move finished off with a clinical shot into the far corner.

After the match the Mark Smith said "It was a delightful match to watch, both sides are evenly matched and it was one of the games that could have gone either way. I was very pleased with the way we played, despite the result, I think we played very well. The difference between the team on the day was that Gorleston took their chances very well. I was very worried before kick-off with the condition of the pitch. It was very wet, particularly in the goal mouths, but both teams coped well with it. We spent a lot of time trying to make the pitch playable and thanks should go to Geoff for marking it out".

Man of the Match . "The Cat" Clabby.

Posted 31^st January 2005