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WINNING RUN CONTINUES AT NUNEATON |
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Written by Administrator
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Wednesday, 12 April 2006 |
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Peter Grimes reports on VICS win at Nuneaton: Nuneaton 1 v 2 VICS A riveting game which swung back and to throughout the 90 minutes. Vics had Ben Connett in goal as Rogers had picked up an injury in training yesterday. It unsettled the defence as they tried to protect him and Connett decided not to catch but to punch away anything in the air. Nuneaton attacked first and a good passing move saw Rickards in space to the left and he shot across goal and wide. In Vics first real raid they went in front when the ball was played wide left to Williams, he carried it down the middle, cut inside and played a neat 11 with Brayson on the edge of the box before shooting inside the post with the help of a deflection. After the goal Nuneaton started to settle and gained much more in the way of possession. They forced 3 corners but the final pass was always a little lacking. Vics, meanwhile, poured all their efforts down the left side relying on Williams and Byrne to use their speed. As the Nuneaton share of possession grew it was no surprise when they equalized. Darby went into the box and Connett and Charnock both went to tackle him, Connett appeared to take his legs with his arm and the ref awarded a penalty. Rickards made no mistake driving powerfully to the right as Connett went the other way. The more Nuneaton's confidence grew the more Vics started to fade and they began to hang on. We should have been a goal down on 35 minutes when Rickards was through but he shot tamely at Connett who gathered it at he 3rd attempt. Elliott put a powerful free kick straight at the keeper but Vics went in glad to be still level and relieved that the danger from crosses had not produced more goals against them. Nuneaton stepped up another gear after the break and showed clearly why they were unbeaten at home. Connett appeared to misjudge a cross come shot and it bounced inches wide of the post. A close range shot was blocked and the follow up shot flashed across goal. A deep cross saw another Nuneaton header go wide and a low cross went right through the 6 yd box without anyone getting a touch. A minute later another quick low cross saw Darby side foot over from close to the goal. Vics were hanging on but one had to admire their tenacity and determination as they still contrived to deny Nuneaton a shot that Connett needed to save. On 55 minutes the game changed direction when Burr brought on Sale for Byrne. He began to win headers and it gave Vics more options. At the same time Nuneaton showed the first signs of fading. Vics then scored at the ideal time. After all the pressure Elliott played the ball to Williams and the little winger shot low and hard into the far corner. It took the wind out of Nuneaton's sails and inspired Vics. We started to regain control of the game as the home teams passing started to deteriorate. Williams fired wide and Vics were suddenly looking confident. There was still a last fling from Nuneaton. 4 successive crosses on 75 minutes ended with a shot wide and they were denied a good-looking shout for a penalty as a Vics defender appeared to handle when clearing. They forced 3 corners as time ran out and in he last 5 minutes a terrific scramble in the Vics box ended with a clearance and a fight! On 89 minutes Connett made his only save from a direct shot pushing it wide. The whistle went and Vics moved a gigantic step closer to being champions. Lucky? In some ways but over the years we have seen good teams come to Vics, stand up to our pressure and then go up field and take their chances. That's what makes them good and that's what we did tonight. It was a great team performance and one could choose almost any defender for man of the match but I'll go for Charnock - tonight he had everything.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 29 June 2008 )
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