Headstocks — Sat 2 Apr 2011

Match report

Half time: 1 – 0

Samba had six games to save their season after the humiliation of the heavy defeat by Trident. In an unorthodox teamtalk manager Gibbons listed the endless reasons given to him for Samba's poor form by the players, but all it amounted to was that Samba had not been good enough to compete at the upper end of the table. Gibbons reverted to 3-5-2 with G.Taylor and Francis partnered in attack. Samba started with more bite than recent performances and like last week were rewarded with an early goal. A set piece was delivered into the box and the Headstocks defence couldn't clear, with the ball falling for Dollochin to volley home from 12yds into the bottom left corner. The game was competitive without much football being played and you couldn't blame either side as the pitch was a bobbly mess, with less grass than you would see in the Sahara. Samba were keeping Headstocks restricted to long range efforts and on the rare occasion when they penetrated the Samba box, C.Taylor produced a great block to take the sting out of a shot that Nicholls saved comfortably. The home side's best chance came from a corner when their big midfield man wasn't tracked and headed over the crossbar, albeit from a tight angle. Samba weren't blessed with a lot of chances but G.Taylor did exceptionally well with a driven effort from 25yds forcing the keeper to turn the ball round the post. Dollochin launched a marauding run that opened Headstocks up but the home side got numbers back and the chance fizzled out. Samba should have an opportunity to extend their lead when they had strong penalty claims turned away for a clear trip on Francis just inside the box. The referee who was having an indifferent afternoon wasn't interested and Francis received a bloody nose for this troubles. Samba went into the half-time break with the lead but more importantly a performance that was 100% more committed than last week and gave them a platform to build upon.

The second half started and Samba continued to be relatively untroubled in the opening stages. However, the pressure was building and a theme was developing that Samba couldn't get out of their half. By 60 minutes the pressure was on Samba and Headstocks looked capable of an equaliser although weren't creating clear cut chances. Nicholls dealt well with shots on the edge of the box and there was some desperate defending but Samba were standing up manfully. As the clock ticked away you started to believe that Samba could hold out, though as an attacking force the Sandboys were almost non-existent. Headstocks came the closest they had all afternoon when a corner dropped to the backpost and the striker volleyed at goal but thankfully the ball was low and Bassett was alert enough to adjust his feet and clear off the line. Although Samba had appeared to weather the storm with six minutes remaining what they craved was a second goal, unlikely as it seemed. Cue G.Taylor. He received the ball on the half-way line and after being buffeted by a couple of defenders he suddenly found himself clear on goal though about 45yds out. He got away from his defender and hit an early left foot shot from about 30yds that curled delightfully into the bottom left hand corner. Game over. Samba survived the remaining few minutes to add a clean sheet to their victory and provide a welcome contrast to the post-match feeling last week.