Mens 3 Vs City of Peterborough 7

Match report kindly written by Paul Ray:

Having lost only 1 of their previous 6 matches this season (winning the last two) and given Peterborough’s recent proneness to leak goals, St Neots headed into this game as clear favourites.  As always though, with Peterborough at home, the away team could never be sure what sort of team they would come up against.  They were faced by a predominantly young and competitive side who were keen to dominate possession, steered by a central spine of experience.  To make matters worse, St.Neots were forced to play the whole match with only 10 players.  

In order to continue the midfield dominance which has paid dividends in recent matches, Captain Mark Lincoln opted for a 3-5-1 formation.  This left the streamlined defence with a substantial responsibility in keeping the Peterborough attack at bay.  

Danny Rowland maintained his recent run of goalscoring form, adding one more to his tally for the season.  This goal came fairly early in the game and settled any anxiety St.Neots may have had.  This goal was followed by a lengthy period of pressure from Peterborough who passed the ball around confidently and proficiently, probing the St. Neots defensive unit.  The back 3, marshalled by Chris Slatcher with his usual competence, doggedly held firm with the help of the midfield in front of them.  Peterborough pressed, but were unable to penetrate and could find neither the gaps nor space around the back needed in order to create any scoring opportunities.  When their persistence paid off, Simon Gautrey did superbly to protect his goal on the few occasions they managed to get a shot on target.  The best of these involved an impressive double save and clearance.

This proved to be a tougher game than anybody had expected and the result is testament to the team spirit and togetherness that is building within the group.