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Leaders stunned by five star Coalville

Loughborough Town 2nd XI  3  Coalville Town 2nd XI  5

Bodykraft 2nd XI East Midlands Premier Division

Town travelled to league leaders Loughborough Town for their first league game after the Christmas break, and despite fielding a weakened team, destroyed their near neighbours with a display of power house hockey.

Missing their injured skipper, Tony Crowie, Town brought in Mark Webster to partner Stuart Jobburn in the middle of the field, and with youngsters Aiden Spilsbury and Matt Taylor playing up front, they tore into their opposition with frightening speed.

 Playing on the unfamiliar water based pitch, early ball control was difficult as they fought to understand the bumpy pitch but soon settled down to pin the home side back into their own half.  Chances for Niki Arnold and Scott Meadows were just off target as the early pressure came from Coalville but they gained their just reward after 16 minutes with a superbly crafted goal. 

Collecting the ball from defence, Jobburn powered through the middle and following some swift interplay with Meadows, his final pass fell to Arnold who slammed the ball home past a helpless keeper.  

Loughborough are not league leaders for nothing and they tried hard to counter Town as Joel Barker was called into action after 20 minutes as he slid out to brilliantly save from a home attacker who had managed to slip the Town back line. Jobburn, Webster and Brent Clamp were working tirelessly in the middle and with Arnold working well with Meadows and Spilsbury up front, the home side were reeling as Town pressed forward looking for a second.

 The pressure was rewarded as they made it two on 31 minutes when Clamp got onto the end of a neat passing movement between Arnold and Spilsbury to punch the ball home, and Glen Marston made it three a minute later when he fastened onto some loose play in the home dee to smash home the third. Not to be outdone, Loughborough twice went close in the final minutes of the half when Barker again saved well and then forced a home player to shoot wide when he should have done better.

The home side came out fighting at the start of the second half as they went searching for some answers to a dominant Town side. With some fortuitous umpiring decisions in their favour they held the upper hand as they swept into the Town half, however Ian Wright and Carl Marshall held the line tight to keep them out, and with Marston and Steve Partner ready to fight their cause, the home side found it hard to set up chances. 

When they did, Partner was on hand to make some timely interceptions and clear the lines. Loughborough were not finding it all their own way though as Webster and Jobburn were more than holding their own, with Webster inspirational at times as he pushed Town forward from midfield. 

However pressure and luck eventually paid off as the home side got one back after 46 minutes and then made it two after 50 minutes following a debatable umpiring decision. However Clamp relieved the pressure when he again popped up in the dee, as he has done so many times this year, to slot home his tenth league goal of the season and Town’s fourth of the game after 51 minutes.

Town were full of confidence now and they poured forward looking for a fifth, with both Marston and Partner joining in down the flanks and with Arnold causing problems, Town won a penalty corner after 65 minutes. Following some short interpassing at the top of the dee, Taylor fastened onto the ball to flick home the fifth and although it took some umpire discussion, the goal was signalled as good.

Back came the home side and with Town holding out at the back, Partner was subject to a harsh umpiring decision to show him a yellow card for obstruction which caused some reshuffling of the defence. Despite being a man down, Marshall and Wright were commanding at the back as they and the rest of the team fought to keep out the home advance.

 But they could not quite shut down the game as Loughborough got a third after 65 minutes to make it a hectic last five minutes. However, Town showed their fighting spirit to hold out for a well deserved win against the top team in the league with a superb all round team performance to secure a win which keeps them in touch with the promotion places.