Selston pressure fails to find rewards against Sandiacre
It was a frustrating defeat for Selston at the weekend
Selston slipped to a third straight defeat after being beaten 1-0 at home to Sandiacre Town at the weekend.After two disappointing cup defeats, Selston returned to United Counties League Division One action on Saturday as Sandiacre Town made the trip to The Parish.
Lee Stevenson was forced into a reshuffle due to player unavailability, making seven changes to the starting XI. Jake Payling, Josh Smith, Ben Moore, Jack Cockram, Alex Hardman, Tom Batterham and Leighton Bowering all came into the side.
Selston created the first real opportunity when Batterham found himself clear through on goal. Rather than shooting, he looked to square the ball, finding Elliott Bland, but the opportunity wasn't converted.
Sandiacre then had strong appeals for a penalty on 17 minutes when Payling came through the back of the visiting attacker, but the referee waved away the protests.
At the other end, Selston had an even stronger claim of their own when Batterham's strike appeared to strike the arm of a Sandiacre defender.
With three minutes of the half remaining, Sandiacre took the lead. A poor Selston clearance fell to Thomas Swift, who struck a superb first-time volley from around 20 yards.
Selston enjoyed the majority of possession and territory after half-time and began to put Sandiacre under sustained pressure. Batterham, Bowering and Cockram all went close as the Parishiners pushed for an equaliser.
At the other end, Selston's defence remained resolute, limiting the visitors to efforts from distance which failed to seriously trouble Cox.
As the match wore on, however, it descended into an increasingly tetchy and physical affair. The lack of control from the referee earlier in the contest had allowed tensions to rise, and the game became fragmented with neither side able to create a clear-cut opening.
Despite Selston's second-half pressure, the equaliser would not come.