Mangrove have had plenty of luck this season! The only problem is that so far all of it has been bad....

 

Against Inter Reserves, no less than 14 of the squad were unavailable for various reasons. To make matters worse, MacPhail had to come off at half time after his usual all action style had seen him twist a knee, whilst Andrews pulled a hamstring at the start of the second half & also limped off. However this bunch don't give up - they don't score many but they do work for each other & that was once again the story of the third defeat of the season.

 

Starting 4-4-2 with the versatile Cave at right back, new signing Michael Freeman on the right & Jon Dean in central midfield, manager Gordon Picker also handed a first start to Tebbutt to partner Everitt in attack. It took a few minutes for the new partnerships to begin working, but soon Mangrove established their superiority. Andrews was outstanding at the back & with Girdlestone has a good foundation for the team to work from. Freeman supplied width & pace, hitting several excellent crosses & teasing the aging left-sided midfielder who swapped at half time to the other flank, only to find himself against another 16 year old in Glasscock.

 

Chances for both sides were limited with defences on top although Sharkey, also struggling with injury, still made two decent saves until the last minute of the half when Inter opened the scoring. A mis-hit corner eluded the front post man for Mangrove & was shinned by an Inter player, squeezing into the net via a ricochet off Sharkey's boot & Glasscock's back.

 

Half time brought problems for Mangrove. Cousins needed running repairs on an injured & bleeding toe, Dean had blistered feet, whilst macPhail could take no further part. The manager brought himself on to replace MacPhail, switching Cousins to central midfield & Glasscock to left back, whilst Picker occupied the left of midfield. It couldn't have been a worse start to the second period however as straight from the kick off a hopefull ball over the top found two men in the box with no markers as Mangrove failed to adapt to their new positions.

 

Even then the Inter substitute's first touch was to miss his shot & hit the ball with his wrong foot, but it sent Sharkey the wrong way allowing him to adjust & roll the ball into the net. 2-0 with 44 minutes to play & soon afterwards an Andrews surge forward saw him injure his hamstring. He bravely tried to carry on & was lying prone when Picker intercepted Joe Tona's headed clearance & picked out Everitt with a perceptive outside of the boot pass over the defence. Everitt found Tebbutt as the keeper challenged & he found the net to bring the game back to life.

 

Richard "Wilf" Smith replaced Andrews with another position for Cousins at centreback & Freeman moving into central midfield, but still Mangrove pressed. Twice through-balls from Picker were wasted, once when it looked easier for Tebbutt to double his tally, whilst the defence coped with anything Inter could muster, Girdlestone magnificent & Cave calm in the face of their pacy, young forwards. However as the clock ticked down & tiredness crept in, Cousins lost the ball when perhaps he could have hacked it clear 35 yards out & Inter moved forward. The striker stunned everyone by choosing to shoot from outside the box on an angle across Sharkey, & with the keeper unable to push off comfortably, he was unable to complete a save. 3-1 it ended, but it could, indeed should have been different.

 

"You know what?" Gordon Picker said afterwards. " I think the boys did really well, but yet again we missed chances to win & got punished for it. It's like Emergency Ward 10 in there, but there are players who can be proud of their effort today. Young Michael Freeman did great & Josh (Glasscock) stood up to be counted when it mattered. I thought Girders was terrific, in fact no-one let us down, we just faded at the end. Jon Dean had blood oozing out of his blisters & I think Ross (Cousins) might have broken a toe. But I enjoyed playing 45 minutes. I thought the spirit was good, the workrate was great & I'm pleased for Tebbs that he got the goal. We've got a break now till the next game & we can look forward to seeing Charlie Barley & his boys at the Common in the cup. Selection should be interesting...."