01.09.13 - Sheffield Forum 4-1 The Abbey

[Pink2Bubble 10]

Finally the first game of the season was here! In the 16 man squad were several new faces as Callum Hall, Tapiwa Mabaya, Thomas Hunaishi, Matthew Scothorne, Steven Morris, Mitchell Dunne and Shane Spence all started for their competitve debuts with Dale Williams, Ashley Tyler and Callum Davison made theirs as a sub.

 

Forum made a slower start to the game than they wanted but had more play than The Abbey who are new the league. Abbey looked to play long and twice went close, hitting the bar on one occasion. Forum built up play well but really struggled to threaten despite several corners.

 

However it was from a corner Forum took the lead. Tom Gray swung in the cross and as pressure was put on 2 Abbey players, one of them deflected into his own net.

 

Five minutes later and Shane Spence was found by Shane Middlebrook and Spence continued where he left off from pre season with another goal.

 

Forum were on top and Gray should have got on the scoresheet but shot straight at the Abbey goalkeeper whilst Middlebrook and youngster Mitchell Dunne both had shots saved.

 

With 5 minutes remaining of the half, Abbeys long ball paid off as the forward broke clear and slotted home to halve the deficit.

 

HT: Sheffield Forum 2-1 The Abbey

 

Second half, Forum were ready to take the game to their opponents but struggled for a little while. Keeper Callum Hall made some good stops including an excellent diving catch to deny Abbey pulling level.

 

The introduction of a couple of substitutes freshened things up but it was Dunne who was the liveliest. He charged down the left, into the box and was brought down for a penalty. Last seasons top scorer Daniel Sheedy collected the ball and placed it perfectly in the corner.

 

Sheedy later dinked a good ball for Spence to chase, he beat the keeper to the ball and lifted it over into the net for a 4-1 scoreline and basically round off the game.

 

Good battling performance with good football played at times inspired by man of the match and team captain Shane Middlebrook who started up front before moving to midfield and defence as Nathan Jenkins unfortunately suffered an injury leaving Forum down to 10 players for the final 5 minutes.

 

Next week we face Merry Monk (Staffordshire Arms) on Herdings Park, 11am kick off.

 

Team: Hall, Mabaya, Scothorne, Hunaishi (Davison), Jenkins, Dunne (Tyler), Gray (Proctor), Gladwin (Williams), Morris, Middlebrook, Spence (Sheedy).