A bumper crowd, swelled by the travelling support, welcomed Simon Roberts fledglings for their home debut in the NERF JPL Elite league (North) fixture against an in-form Pennington FC.
In attendance at the Grange also was special guest Lee Scowen of match sponsors Fit Studio Ltd based in Bretton, Peterborough, who have helped prepare the Netherton United squad this season with weekly fitness/strengthening sessions.

The match started off quickly with the ball being played neatly between players of both teams. They were cancelling each other out early doors until a corner for Pennington FC in the 7th minute. The in-swinger was met by Joe Potter who rose above the Netherton defence and headed it neatly past the home side stopper Bartosz Berezowski. 0-1.

Going behind so early on sparked an immediate response from the home side who won a free kick in the 13th minute just inside the opposition half. Marauding full back Loui Catt fired a cross shot which the Pennington keeper completely misjudged and ended up in the back of the net, 1-1.

This inspired Netherton to take the game to the opposition and in the 15th minute a 50-50 clash between the classy Pennington centre half Jack Tingle and Viliam Radic resulted in a debatable free kick for Netherton. The Pennington players were fuming and were letting the referee know exactly what they thought.

Euan Hattersley however didn’t hang around for any argument and delivered the free kick into the area which set off a panic in the Pennington players and duly resulted in a second goal for the home side, with the ball landing at Harvey Henderson’s feet who tucked it away like a seasoned centre forward. 2-1

The strong opposition were rallied by their perceiving of an injustice and went close twice to equalising with quick passing and movement. The away team could count themselves unlucky going in behind at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter became a niggly stop/start affair with both sides trying to assert dominance of the ball but only resulted in antagonising each other. The highlight of the quarter was when Lukas Vaickelionis failed to convert having rounded the Pennington keeper but instead of shooting with his left foot chose to cut back onto his stronger right foot by which time the chance had gone.

Half Time 2-1

The third quarter continued to be a lively affair with the constant challenging of every referee decision by the Pennington FC players. Both teams were trying to play the game on the floor however continuing stoppages were disrupting the flow of both sets of players.

The Netherton coaches kept rotating the team and one of the changes paid off. A neat passage of play by the home side in the 44th minute found the impressive Lewis Leesons unmarked in the opposition box who turned dropped a shoulder and completed the move with a sublime finish. 3-1.

Shakespeare could have penned the response from Pennington FC and If Netherton thought they could ease off they were very much mistaken as the away team fired back quickly in the 45th minute, the ball ping ponged around the 18-yard box until it landed at the feet of Ben Hamlet who had a simple tap in. 3-2

The game was still being contested in a fast-paced aggressive manner, both teams going close to scoring, one memorable moment of the quarter was a stunning strike from Netherton’s Jakub Nowicki which was matched by the Pennington keeper Max Woolhams cat like reflexes as he tipped the ball over the crossbar. All round good football.

The final quarter had arrived of this pulsating encounter and the game continued to flow. The tiring legs of the Pennington players combined with the extra fitness of the home side finally told in the closing moments with Ryan Thomas terrorising the Pennington defence. His trickery, pace and guile forced a Pennington defender into bringing him down in the 70th minute resulting in a penalty which was coolly despatched by the confident Lewis Leesons. 4-2

The Netherton team were now playing with such a freedom that Simon Roberts made further changes to keep up the momentum. This time however Villiam Radic was upended by the Pennington captain Jack Tingle for the second penalty of the game in the 79th minute. Up stepped Lukas Vaickelionis to score in the absence of Lewis Leesons who had been rotated and missed out on the chance to top his strong performance off with a hat trick. 5-2

The game soon ended after the penalty and supporters of the home side had been treated to a powerhouse of a performance from the Netherton United team.

A notable mention for Josh Wilson who made an impressive debut at left back and for injured vice-captain Drew Budd who attended the game.

A mention also for the supporters/coaches and players of Pennington FC who had endured a six-hour roundtrip to fulfil this fixture. Best of luck for the rest of the season.

Full Time 5-2

Team – Harvey Henderson (1), Loui Catt (1), Wayne Cort, Josh Wilson, Ryan Thomas, Euan Hattersley, Hashim Hussain, Lukas Vaickelionis (1), Danyaal Younus, Viliam Radic, Sam Oakley, Jakub Nowicki, Lewis Leesons (2), Bartosz Berezowski

MOTM

Gold Harvey Henderson
Silver Loui Catt
Bronze Josh Wilson