Jardine brace crushes the Town – Match Report: Nuneaton Town 0 Heather St John’s 2

Match report by George Kirk

Match sponsor: DP Financial Services
Matchball sponsor: Football Adventures on Youtube.

Nuneaton Town faced their biggest challenge of the season so far, as Heather St John’s visited the Oval. The Saints had kicked off their season flying, after 4 wins out of 4, the visitors travelled full of confidence. With both teams starting the season unbeaten, the occasion was set, with a top of the table clash under the floodlights.

The first half was a scrappy affair. Long balls galore, crunching tackles, and a sense of animosity between the two sides. Despite this there were few chances to note. Over 5 minutes into the game, Brandon Bache in the Town goal nearly saw one go in after a long ball over the top caught the young shot stopper off guard and gifted the ball at the edge of the box which resulted the effort bouncing just wide of the goal. Nuneaton replied with a chance of their own when Harry Jackson flashed a ball across goal which found Johnson just a yard too short. In the 24th minute, Williams took a knock and was replaced by Louis Baker. After a half of long balls galore, the visitors took the lead on the stroke of half time. A defence splitting ball from Nathan McGarrity left Kyle Jardine with just the keeper to beat, slotting a cool finish into the bottom left corner (44 mins).

Half time: Nuneaton Town 0 – Heather St John’s 1.

The second half began in the same trend as the first and as Heather St John’s pushed forward, they were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box. A man full of confidence, Kyle Jardine, stepped up again to haunt the home side, rifling a powerful effort into the bottom right corner (46 mins). This fired up Town to pushing bodies forward. Substitute Louis Baker fizzed in a wicked cross which caught the visiting keeper of guard and crashed against the bar. After James Harrison replaced Harry Jackson in the 61st minute, the Blues continued to press forward. And in the 64th minute were rewarded, as Danico Johnson was tripped in the box. Penalty to the Town. Louis Baker stepped up, but was unable to convert as the ball smashed against the keeper in the middle of the goal and flew away from danger. With 12 minutes to go Justin Marsden replaced Danico Johnson who had also took a knock. From then on, the travelling side sat back and used their game management to see out the three points, frustrating Nuneaton in the process.

Full time: Nuneaton Town 0 – Heather St John’s 2
Attendance: 471

A tough one to take for the Town, who will aim to bounce back against Leicester St Andrews on Saturday.

Team: Bache, Edwards, Rosser, Currithers, Recci, Hendrie, Mullen, Williams (Baker 24), Jackson (Harrison 61), Bruce, Johnson (Marsden 78)
Subs: Baker, Birta, Marsden, Harrison

Reaction to the action:

After the game joint manager Darren Acton said:

“It was an entertaining 1st v 2nd clash. I think we were unfortunate not to get a draw out of the game. We came out in the second half, dominated and were the better team”.