Won 4-3
Scorers: Stewart Kier, Ethan Aitkin, Maxime Messenger 2
MoM: Stewart Kier – making the trip from Somerset
DoD: Maxime Messenger – making Sammzi drive to Polo unnecessarily
Not the perfect game we would have liked, but a very good start to #thegreatescapevolume2 !
We pushed hard early on knowing how an important this game would be for our survival in Southeast Division 1 East, quickly finding the back of the net through Maxime. Another goal for Maxime followed shortly thereafter taking us to 2-0 and keeping the pressure on we created a few short corners, one of which was converted by skipper Stew Kier giving a comfortable lead!
Though Holcombe had a few chances our defence held strong and we were still able to apply lots of pressure on Holcombe’s final quarter.
A dubious corner awarded to Holcombe was converted very scrappily on the goal line taking the score to 3-1.
Not to be deterred the Pilgrims continued the pressure on Holcs and another PC was awarded in our favour. The excellent drag flick was saved but a very quick follow-up by Ethan went down into the turf and bounced back up to find the net!
A comfortable 4-1 lead at halftime saw some happy Grims take a rest and look ahead to maintaining said lead, for survival depended on it!
The Grims started a little weaker in the second half, but maintained some good pressure on Holcs. A few cards for both sides saw some extra pressure at both ends, but neither side capitalised during these periods.
Holcombe’s late signing of their usual 2nd XI player Ian Harvey began to pay off as he found the backboard with a low drag from a PC, then again shortly after again form a PC with a follow-up hit to the top right corner. The Pilgrims suddenly found themselves at 4-3 and facing a very offensive Holcombe side for the final 10.
Several more promising attacks came and went for both sides, but neither capitalised on them. With the game approaching it’s dying minutes the Gilgrims found themselves on the right side of a yellow card for the Holcombe 2s player. This allowed the Pilgrims to relax a little with the player advantage for the remainder of the game.
The final whistle blew to the joy of the people’s 1s, 3 very crucial points on the road secured! A few results going our way elsewhere in the League sees us just 2 points behind 10th place Herne Bay as well as just 3 points behind South Saxons and Holcombe! With 3 games to go against the 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams, we have a good fighting chance of completing the Great Escape once again!