Watson is the ‘Main’ man for Clipstone with late clincher

A dominant first half performance was good enough for Clipstone to see off visitors Rossington Main in Toolstation NCEL Division One.
NMAC Clipstone v Rossington
Clipstones 1st goalNMAC Clipstone v Rossington
Clipstones 1st goal
NMAC Clipstone v Rossington Clipstones 1st goal

Clipstone were the more dominant in passing and movement as well as ability in the whole of the first half.

The first real attempt at goal came in the seventh minute with Clipstone’s very first corner.

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Taken on the left by Carl Haslam and swung into the back post area, Matt Austin rose to head towards goal only for Rossington’s keeper Adam Stevens to collect with both hands on the goal line. A few minutes later, after a really good passage of inter-play, the ball landed at the feet of Gary Armstrong 35 yards out. He unleashed a almighty shot which beat the keeper all ends up, only to be saved by the left hand post, eventually cleared by the Rossington defence.

On 12 minutes Clipstone did take a deserved lead, though. Again it was a corner on the left, and again taken by Haslam.

This time he swung it into the near post where it was flicked on by Jason Edwards and again Matt Austin was clear at the far post to get the ball over the line with a powerful header, despite the despairing dive from the keeper.

It was not long before that lead was doubled. A bad mistake from Rossington left back Dom Richardson saw him totally misjudged the flight of the ball, which Carl Snowdon ran onto inside the area and sent a thunderous half volley passed the keeper and into the back of the net on 25 minutes.

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Clipstone were in total control at that point of the game and, with some of the football being played by the home side it seemed to be a case of how many.

Rossington did not have a sniff at goal until the 42nd minute when Tom Bennett sent over a cross which found Scott Bigby free 10 yards out, but he could only send his header way over the bar.

It must have been frustrating for his new manager Steve Brennan. But he would have been uplifted just three minutes later as Lee Holmes found the ball at his feet on the edge of the area, and his shot found its way inside the far post to half the deficit just before the half-time whistle.

The second half was a much tighter affair. Whatever the Rossington coaching staff had to say at half time certainly made them pick up a few gears in midfield at least and they were quicker to the first and second ball for much of the half.

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On the hour Clipstone decided to make their first substitution of the game with Steve Carty replacing Haslam, and 10 minutes after coming on this was very nearly a wise move from the Clipstone bench.

Carty was put through by Jason Edwards and with a fraction more luck would have increased the lead, unfortunately for Clipstone it drifted just wide of the post and out for a goal kick.

Liam Pride also had a speculative half volley neatly saved from the young Rossington keeper.

This spurred Clipstone on and, with time running out for Rossington, Kieran Watson bagged a goal from just inside the six yard area and catapulted it into the roof of the net to seal the result.

CLIPSTONE: Eley, Armstrong, Paling, Webster (J. Shaw), B. Shaw, M Austin, Pride, Edwards, Snowdon, Watson, Haslam (Carty). Subs not used: Millington, Camm, Hillier.

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