Beeston Rovers — Sat 20 Oct 2012

Match report

Half time: 0 – 2

Samba returned from cup action attempting to make progress in the league after a stuttering start. Hill made his first start in midfield and James Randall replaced the absent Letford in the back three. If Samba were looking for a solid start it didn't show as they went a goal down virtually straight away. A long throw in into the box was met by the forward and as Nicholls attempted to punch he was stranded and the ball trickled into the unguarded net. Samba struggled to get any fluency to their play and their passing was extremely poor albeit on a difficult playing surface. They could have been two down after a quick Beeston breakaway following a Samba set piece led to a two on two situation. Fortunately for Samba Beeston were wasteful in front of goal on this occasion. Samba did show glimpses of being capable and earned a few corners which caused the occasional trouble for the home side but it was Beeston who added to their tally. The ball was given away in Sambas third and the ball was maneuvred to the edge of the box before the striker skinned the last man and drilled low into the bottom left corner. It had been an abject display from Samba and they had a mountain to climb in the second half.

The first fifteen minutes of the second half were relatively even with little goalmouth action. Samba continued to give the ball away at an alarmingly rate anytime they approached the Beeston half and it was no real surprise when Beeston got the third goal, despite the home side not being as dominant in the second period. Nicholls was desperately unlucky to see his fine save fall to the feet of the Besston striker who tucked it away and put the game beyond doubt. When Beeston added a fourth with a back post header it looked liked Samba could be subject to a real drubbing but fortunately the home side were unable to further Samba's misery and G.Taylor scored a consolation goal, hitting a rebound into the ground and beyond the keeper to give some if not much respectability to the score line. Samba picked up for the final 5-10 mins but it was too little too late and overall had been their worst display of the season.