By Chris Wood for North Derbyshire Radio. Photo Credit – Michael South Photography
Matlock Town cruised to a very impressive victory to kick off a 48-hour double-header across the Easter bank holiday weekend.
The game got off to a very fast paced start as the Gladiators had their first real chance after just 5 minutes. Upton managed to pick the pocket of a visiting defender before spreading the ball across to Wilson who found himself in acres of space. The Matlock winger got a low shot off, beating the onrushing keeper but a defender intervened really well to clear the ball off the line.
However, the early stages of the game weren’t all positive as midfielder Liam Ravenhill had to be substituted after just 10 minutes. It wasn’t clear what exactly happened but he may well have got his foot caught either in the challenge or in the surface of the pitch (it’s not all bad however as he was seen limping around after the game and joined in with the applause on the pitch after the full-time whistle).
7 minutes later, Matlock finally broke the deadlock and what a goal it was! Macdonald picked up the ball from a loose clearance, took one touch to get it out of his feet, and fired an absolute firecracker from 25 yards into the left-hand side of the net. The goalkeeper didn’t even move! What a way to open the scoring!
The home side continued with the dominance they had shown in the opening quarter of an hour, moving the ball quickly, maintaining possession and creating numerous chances. There was a potentially nervy moment midway through the first half however as Granite and Lambton appeared to get in a bit of a tangle. The ball was bouncing around the Matlock box for a little longer than was comfortable but was eventually scrambled clear.
Milambo found himself playing as a right winger in this afternoon’s game and it was the makeshift winger who doubled Matlock’s lead. It was his fellow winger Wilson who gets all the plaudits for this goal however as he ran the length of the Consett half before getting to the byline and pulling the ball across. All Milambo had to do was tap the ball into an empty net, and he duly obliged!
On the stroke of half-time, the Gladiators made it 3. Tommy Elliott (wearing the number 9 today in the absence of Washington) played a delightful, chipped pass over the top to Eratt-Thompson. The full back found himself at a really tight angle but managed to loop the ball over the onrushing keeper and into the back of the net. Wilson was there to head home to make sure, but the dubious goals panel swiftly met and awarded the goal to Eratt-Thompson.
Half-Time – Matlock Town 3-0 Consett AFC
During the second half, the home side picked up exactly where they’d left off before the break. The passing moves and the chances created delighting the home fans who were in fine voice on this sunny afternoon.
The closest chance fell to Elliott 10 minutes into the second half. Milambo did well to ride a series of challenges and get the ball across to Elliott. All the number 9 had to do was tap the ball home, however it caught his heel, and he did more to help Consett’s defenders than he did to actually score himself!
The remainder of the second half was relatively uneventful, with the hosts creating chances but shots were either straight at the visiting keeper, or wide of the mark. Consett did threaten a consolation goal from a couple of set-pieces late on, but the Gladiators’ defence did well to limit the visitors to very few, if any shots on target.
Full-Time – Matlock Town 3-0 Consett AFC
There are 2 big pleasing takeaways from this afternoon’s game from a home fan point of view. Firstly, the Matlock defence (potentially a back 5 after Ravenhill’s substitution but it isn’t clear) who did very well to not give the visitors any breathing space and ensured they offered very little going forward. The second is the way the goals were scored and the chances were created. The Gladiators moved the ball quickly and passed well to carve open the opportunities, something that Matlock fans have been wanting for a while.
Today’s was the first game of an Easter weekend double header, with a fantastic attendance of 825 to boot. Matlock have less than 48 hours rest before they travel to Silsden on Easter Monday for the penultimate away game of the season.
Matlock XI – 1. Lambton, 2. Eratt-Thompson, 3. Macdonald, 4. Bachirou (Viggars 79’), 5. Granite (C), 6. Oglesby, 7. Wilson (Thompson 74’), 8. Ravenhill (Williamson 10’), 9. Elliott, 10. Upton (Atherton 74’), 11. Milambo
Consett XI – 1. Moss, 2. Patterson, 3. Daniels, 4. Costello (Mcgowan 67’), 5. M. Ledger (C), 6. Colledge, 7. Allasan (Thomas 67’), 8. Smith, 9. Holdsworth, 10. Constantin (Exley 79’), 11. Dobinson
