Holbeach United 0 Anstey Nomads 3
Disappointed Danny Clifton felt that his Holbeach United side were “beaten in a different way” on Saturday as title-chasing Anstey Nomads prevailed 3-0.
The Tigers, already relegated from the Uhlsport UCL Premier Division, suffered a 28th defeat of the season thanks to goals from Lewis Gibbens (1), Michael Reeve (18) and Corey Armeni (74) at Carter’s Park.
It was a third game on the spin that has pitted Holbeach against one of the division’s top five, but this defeat rankled with Clifton a little.
That’s because he felt that Anstey managed to “get in the referee’s head” with their antics, allowing them numerous set-pieces in dangerous places.
Indeed, both the first-minute opener and late clincher came direct from free-kicks.
“It felt like we lost the game in a different way,” said the Tigers’ chief. “I think Anstey got in the ref’s head and it massively influenced the game.
“They were constantly in his ear and surrounding him and he seemed to fall for it, which allowed them to buy a lot of free-kicks.
“I mean, when it gets to the stage that the same player keeps diving and gets up laughing after winning a foul, you know something is going on.
“I don’t want to be hard on the referee. He seems a good bloke and he has one of the hardest jobs in football – I wouldn’t want to do it.
“But I think the influence they had over him on the day cost us dearly.
“To go 1-0 down inside a minute from a dodgy free-kick and then have the game killed off by another example of that late on left a bad taste.
“I think it was another lesson for the lads, as that’s the kind of thing that can happen in men’s football.
“We’ve lost fair and square plenty of times in recent weeks and months and we’ve learned to be more solid. But we couldn’t do much about Saturday.”
Tigers: Blake, Gilbert, Carter, Nuttell, Thomas, Wilson, Catt, Dalliday, Camfield, Wirkowski, Harris. Subs used: Addai, Chaudhari, Stimson. Not used: Clifton.
Attendance: 65.
