Netherfield Albion — Sat 11 Oct 2008

Match report

Half time: 1 – 0

Samba entertained Netherfield Albion at Burton Road for their third successive home game in the league. Samba actually had an opportunity to top the league with a win but knew it would be difficult against a well-established Netherfield Albion side. Broughton was unavailable for this fixture so was replaced by the returning Wilkinson. The only other change to the side that beat Gedling Southbank 'A' was that Lucas started in midfield with Brewer unfortunate to drop to the bench. Samba lined up 4-4-2, going down the slope but it was Netherfield that controlled the early stages of the match. Netherfield appeared more comfortable in possession in the opening period and pinned Samba back. Although Netherfield dominated possession they didn't have any clear cut opportunities and slowly Samba battled their way into the match. As the game progressed Netherfield were creating more opportunities but were frustrated on a number of occasions with their inability to stay on-side. Albion were also getting crosses into the Samba box but could not manufacture a clear goal-scoring opportunity. At the other side Samba, were still far from fluent and seemed to get their best opportunities when Netherfield failed to clear their lines. A Netherfield mistake created Samba's first real chance and with a slice of luck they took it. Lucas pounced on a misplaced pass and put Francis clear in the left channel. As the keeper closed him down Francis chipped a ball into the box, which hit the recovering defender and he could not stop it trickling over the line. 1-0. Netherfield felt hard done by and soon created the clearest opportunity of the match. The Albion forward was clear on goal but Nicholls smothered the shot and grabbed it to his chest. At half time Samba knew that they had been slightly fortunate to take a lead and at times had been outnumbered in midfield.

Gibbons decided to make a tactical switch, moving to a 3-5-2 and replacing Bassett with E.Taylor. In the early exchanges of the second half the difference was noticeable and Samba's passing was undoubtedly improving. However, Samba were over-commiting men in the early part of the half and Netherfield punished them with an equaliser after an hour. The goal itself came in a lightning break, with the ball played to the forward and then out to the winger who was clean through on goal. With his pace he wasn't going to be caught and he rounded the keeper and slotted home. Samba were disappointed with the goal, as they considered that there was a good shout for offside. Within a couple of minutes, the game swung again and this turned out to a pivitol moment in the match. As Samba sought to regain the lead there was confusion in the Albion box and E.Taylor's shot was deflected by G.Taylor's boot (no relation) and evaded the keeper to creep in the bottom right corner of the net. It was a scrappy and poor goal to concede but Samba did not give a damn. Netherfield really turned on the heat after this goal and their right winger was hugging the touchline and causing real problems. A succession of crosses could not find the forward to apply the finishing touch and when they did, they were very unlucky to see the ball rebound off the crossbar. It was far from a one-sided match at this point though, with Samba benefiting from Netherfield commiting men forward. Gibbons had replaced Wilford and was causing problems in front of the Netherfield defence. A break in the Samba left hand channel resulted in some daylight between the two sides when G.Taylor crossed from the bye-line for Francis to tap home for his first goal of the season. At 3-1 down Netherfield refused to give up and when they hit the crossbar for a second time, it felt like it was going to be Samba's day. Samba were defending well but were deeper and deeper. When Albion did get beyond the defence, they found Nicholls in inspired form, making three great saves and getting a boot in the head for his troubles. In the last ten minutes it appeared that Samba had weathered the storm and could even have had a fourth but Brewer (on for Francis) did not get sufficient connection on his shot and dragged it wide. As the final whistle blew, Samba knew that they had been in a game and were further buoyed by the news that they were top at this early stage of the season.