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Disappointing defeat for Town

Coalville Town 1 Players 2

BodyKraft East Midlands Premier Division

Coalville slumped to a disappointing defeat against a well-organised but hardly inspiring Players side in their latest BodyKraft East Midlands Premier Division.

County Drains-sponsored Coalville will rue a string of missed of chances and a generally poor first half display. Town were slow to start and inside the opening couple of minutes the Nottingham side had cut the Town defence open and played a ball across the area to leave a forward to guide the ball home into an empty goal.

It was not the start Coalville skipper Phil Sign had asked for, but Town soon began to pressure the Players defence. Chris Vernon soon saw a rasping shot parried away by the Players keeper, while Liam McArthur fired wide from a good position.

Coalville continued to plug away, with Sign and Ryan Mason both working the keeper. Eventually the pressure told and Coalville did get the breakthrough. Mason wriggled free in the area and flicked the ball towards goal - into the face of a Players defender - and Adam Barnett was on hand to bundle the ball home.

Just as it looked as though the two teams were going to turnaround all-square, Coalville conceded a sloppy penalty corner. The ball was flicked towards goal and Town keeper Paul Marston parried the ball away, but a Players picked the ball up and somehow it was scrambled home from close range.

Sign laid into his side at the break, calling for greater passion, and he got a decent response. Coalville came out sharper, but Players packed their defence and looked to hit on the counter. Despite having the greater of the possession, and dominating territorially, Town couldn't find a breakthrough.

Vernon saw an effort disallowed after the umpires whistled for an earlier foul, and the same player was denied by a superb save from the Players keeper. Mason fired wide on a couple of occasions, and Coalville's best chance came in the dying minutes when a penalty corner routine saw the ball at the stick of Sign, but the Coalville skipper fired wide and with that went Coalville's chance of anything from the game.

Town will have to do better when they make the trip of Northampton Lions on Saturday, a side who've made a poor start to the season and will be desperate to get back on track against Coalville.