Foxton picked up a hard fought 2-1 victory away to Ely City Res on Saturday, in a game that wasn’t too easy on the eye and in extremely difficult conditions.
Foxton started on the front foot and in the first minute, after a good move, Jake turned his marker and had a goal bound shot well blocked by an Ely defender.
The strong winds made things very difficult for both teams and most of the game relied on effort and concentration.
From a set piece in the 8th minute, Ely had a chance to score but their forward headed wide at the back post.
From the resulting goal kick, Foxton took the lead when Pinney’s goal kick found its way over the Ely back line, Callum Harrison latched on to the loose ball and made no mistake from 10 yards out, slotting past the home keeper.
One minute later, Callum nearly had his second, when El’s won possession in the middle of the park and played it out wide to Cal, who surged into the box, his left footed strike was well saved by the Ely no1.
Callum stayed in the thick of the action and on 20 minutes grabbed his second, Pinney’s long clearance again causing havoc in the swirling wind, the ball found its way to Cal, who volleyed home from just inside the box.
Ely, who were playing into the strong wind, had the odd counter but some last-ditch tackles from Foxtons back line kept their chances down to a minimum.
On the half hour mark, Jordan and Jake combined well to create an opening for Bonney but again, the keeper saved well.
Ely started to get into the game and pulled a goal back, when their left back cruised down the flank and picked out a supporting player in the box, who finished well, with plenty of Foxton bodies around him.
Moments later, they had an opportunity to draw level but luckily, the strikers effort went wide.
HT Ely 1- 2 Foxton
The second half was much the same as the first, with the conditions causing havoc, especially for both defences, who had to deal with many high balls.
In the early stages of the half, Ely had a half chance after a strong run down the left flank and a cross cum shot, which went just past the top corner. After that, neither side created anything of real substance and both defences put in plenty of blocks, to nullify any chances that could’ve been there.
Foxton did have a couple of half chances in the last 15 mins, on both occasions, Callum was again heavily involved, after his determined and clever play on the right side. He shot one effort wide and rolled one across the box, which narrowly evaded everyone.
In the 87th minute, the home team should’ve levelled, when the ball found its way to their unmarked no10 at the back post, but Pinney saved well, to keep us in the lead.
With about 8 minutes of time still to play, Foxton managed to see out the game brilliantly with Luca, Ed and Mez working wonders in the bottom left corner of the pitch.
A tough ugly game for both sides but an important 3 points none the less.
TEAM: Pinney, Beard, Gillies, Hoskins, Byrne, Meredith, Knight, Harrison, Atkin, Williams, Kotelo.
SUBS: Graver, McMurrough, Dusi, Watson.