Shirebrook Town are outclassed by Retford United
Shirebrook Town were back in action on Saturday afternoon and they were one of the few games to survive the weather so they were looking to take full advantage of the teams around them not playing.
But it would be a difficult task as they visited Retford United who were firmly in the mix for the play-off places.
And as the game got underway Retford dominated the opening 10 minutes as Jackson Buckthorpe, Lewis Chambers and Carlton Carty all had chances to open the scoring for the home side. It was no surprise when Retford took the lead in the 14th minute when Ben Ashall corner found Josh Eggington who volleyed the corner into the bottom corner and now they had the lead the home side wouldn’t let up.
They had chance after chance to add to the score line Lewis Chambers twice went close while Josh Eggington, Carlton Carty, Ben Ashall and Callum Orange all wasted chances for Retford. But just as it looked like Shirebrook were going to make it to the break without any more damage to the score line Retford extended their lead in the 43rd minute when Lewis Chambers tapped in from close range and as the sides went in at the break the home side were in full control.
Having struggled to even muster a shot in the first half Shirebrook knew they had room for improvement in the second half and it was a much improved performance in the second 45 minutes as Ross Henshaw and Kian Tansley both had chances to get a goal back.
But as the half went on Retford were starting to get back on top as Charlie Dawes headed over and both Carlton Cary and Lewis Chambers also went close for the home side.
However Shirebrook were still pushing to try and get back into the game as Tom McNally set up Ben Hartley who’s shot from the edge of the box was blocked and Josh Tate also fired a shot over the bar but as the game went into stoppage time Retford added to the score line as Jack Warner found space on the edge of the box and fired into the bottom corner to wrap up the points for Retford.