Church Fail To Press Home Early Advantage

A stunning free kick from Fin Thorndike gave Church a 19th minute lead in this penultimate league game of the season, and having secured Step 3 survival the previous weekend, the goal promised to set up a positive end to the season that has been somewhat of a roller coaster.
Just after Thorndike had despatched the ball into the home net Crowther heads on target from close range, but with not enough power to seriously trouble the home keeper, White.

Management changes in the autumn, and then long good and bad runs in the league left Church looking over their shoulders, but in some respects this latest game gave a good summary of what has gone right and wrong in the process, including a feeling of “how did that get away from us”.

A desire and belief to play really good possession football, based on slick passing and movement, but too often undone by lapses in concentration and judgement that lead to conceding unnecessary goals that lead to unexpected defeats.
One such goal is conceded on 37 minutes when a simple ball into the box from the left finds Chambers in space, and the Coalville forward rifles the ball low into the corner to bring the scores level.

The second half begins brightly for the home side when on 51 minutes McGlinchey rolls his marker and gets himself into a dangerous position in the box, but his near post shot is well saved by Hollingshead, as he turns the ball behind for a corner.

Church shoot themselves in the foot on 73 minutes when failing to clear their lines, the ball bobbles around the box for a spell, and a weak clearance falls kindly for Chambers who loops the ball back in and over Hollingshead to turn the scoreline on its head and give the home side the lead.

Church never recovered even though Clayton-Phillips tracks forwards two minutes later and rasps a shot against the Coalville bar with White beaten.

Church have the best of the closing minutes but there is no breakthrough, and the home side hold on for all the points in a game that they never really dominated.