By Chris Wood for North Derbyshire Radio
Photo Credit – Michael South Photography
After 3 games in all competitions without a win, Matlock Town ended a wobbly spell today as they beat Beverley Town 2-0 at the Proctor Cars Stadium.
The game started in pretty impressive fashion for the Gladiators as Washington got to the byline inside the first 10 minutes and put a low cross to the back post. Kachosa was arriving and would’ve had a simple tap in, had it not been for the intervention of a Beverely defender.
After this bright start, for most of the first half, it was pretty 50/50 as both teams tried to figure each other out and carve out an opening.
It was the visitors who probably had the biggest chance of the first half as a cross came in from essentially the corner flag. A free header was nodded towards goal but goalkeeper Dewhurst pulled off a remarkable save to keep the scores level.
The main talking point of the first half came on the 39th minute, Washington and Hilton breaking with pace and the latter being found by the striker. It looked like Hilton was pulled back by a defender on the edge of the box, which would have resulted in a free kick and possible red card. However, the referee was unmoved, potentially because Hilton was judged to be offside.
Washington would go close again for the Gladiators in injury time as his low shot from the edge of the box clipped the outside of the post. Neither team would be able to break the deadlock before the interval.
Half-Time – Matlock Town 0-0 Beverley Town
After the break, the hosts would come flying out the starting blocks as Kachosa put the ball in the net just 5 minutes after the restart. The linesman’s flag went up for offside against the winger, preventing a fast start for Matlock. Washington then went through 1 on 1 with the very next attack but his shot was too close to the Beverley keeper who saved well with his legs.
The visitors would grow into the half as time went on, most notably having a particularly purple patch around the 50-55 minute mark. Firstly, the ball made its way to Snelgrove who had too much space in the box to finish past Dewhurst. He didn’t beat captain Eratt-Thompson however who cleared off the line. 2 minutes later, Watson unleashed a venomous volley that Dewhurst managed to push onto the bar.
The rest of the second half continued in a similar way to the first as neither team was able to really break down the other and it looked like it was going to be one of those days for Matlock Town. That was until super sub Tommy Elliott was played through 6 minutes from time before finishing beyond the keeper.
The icing on the cake came 1 minute into injury time as Washington beat the offside trap before improving on his earlier finish and scoring another goal in his Matlock Town career.
Full-Time – Matlock Town 2-0 Beverley Town
Manager Nathan Haslam was impressed with the manner in which his side managed to win, in a game where Matlock struggled to break Beverley down for long periods. He said that there is still plenty more to come from his Gladiators side who are still getting used to the way the manager wants them to play and the standards that he expects of his players.
Another positive story for Matlock supporters was the return of fan favourite Jeremie Milambo to the starting 11. The full-back played the full 90 minutes and impressed on his return from a lengthy spell out injured.
The Gladiators’ next game sees them travel to Grimsby Borough next Saturday with a 3pm kickoff.
Matlock XI – 1. Dewhurst, 2. Owusu Osei, 3. Milambo, 4. Bachirou, 5. Walker, 6. Andoh, 7. Pettifer (Elliott 67’), 8. Eratt-Thompson (C), 9. Washington (Giles 90+2’), 10. Hilton (Sault 57’), 11. Kachosa
Beverley XI – 1. Reynolds, 2. Sherburn, 3. Stockhill (Gibson-Booth 46’), 4. Lovick, 5. Plummer (C) (Taylor 81’), 6. Gomeniuk, 7. Watson (Duruh 55’), 8. Bojang (Hatton 67’), 9. Marriott, 10. Snelgrove, 11. Onoh
