Mousehold 2, Loddon Utd 3

The scoreline definitely does not tell the story of this match. Mousehold started very well, and were already a goal up by 12 minutes in when the Loddon keeper dived and knocked the ball away only for Duane Green to collect it and tap it gently into the goal.

Loddon didn’t seem to be in the game, but it was still a further 21 minutes before Gareth Crick gave Mousehold their second;

Captain and manager-for-the-day Brett Macey put in a quality cross, Gareth nipped between two defenders and headed the ball into the net. Several missed chances meant it should have been a much higher score than 2-0 going into half time.

Thirteen minutes into the second half Loddon were granted a controversial penalty, which they put away.

This decision and the resulting goal badly affected the players who seemed to be unable to put it behind them, and just five minutes later Loddon had equalised, when a lacklustre defence allowed him to go one-on-one with the Mousehold keeper.

When Peter Wilkes came on hopes were high as he produced a stunning shot, which travelled from outside the area, curving over the keeper, only to rebound off the crossbar, and in the end it was Loddon who found the decider on 73 minutes.

A disappointing outcome but the players need to keep their heads up when decisions go against them – that one penalty did not lose them the game. Man of the Match: Gareth Crick.

Mousehold Reserves 0, Sprowston Beehive 8

For the first 20 minutes Mousehold Reserves kept the score at 0-0 and actually had the chance to go in front twice, but two good saves kept them out.

After 20 minutes the rot set in – Sprowston scored from nothing, an error in the Mousehold defence. Mousehold continued to battle but were unable to change the scoreline in their favour. A further three goals followed before half-time, all from small errors that Sprowston capitalised on.

At the half-time talk the Manager asked the players to keep it together and not to concede any more, and the players responded, coming out fighting, but Sprowston scored again after about 10 minutes. After that Sprowston seemed to take their foot off the gas, letting Mousehold in for a while, but again they were unable to produce any goals.

As the half went on Mousehold tired, and a further three goals in quick succession finished them off.

Manager Andy Brown awarded no man of the match award following this performance, but did say that Mousehold just needed a little luck.