Holbeach United 4 Needham Market U23s 2
Cal Davies helped himself to a hat-trick as Holbeach United came from behind to beat Needham Market under-23s 4-2 in their Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties Division One North opener on Saturday.
The Tigers, who went all of last season without winning a game en-route to relegation from the Uhlsport UCL Premier Division North, had that sinking feeling when Lucas Vance’s double put them 2-0 down at half-time at Carter’s Park.
But Davies pulled one back on 56 minutes, before Kyle Compton levelled very soon after. Needham’s Mahmoud Igwebuike was then sent off conceding a penalty, allowing Davies to notch his second from the spot (71) before rounding off his treble five minutes from time.
After such a promising pre-season, joint Holbeach boss Danny Clifton was delighted to secure what was his first win in the role after the nightmare of last season.
He admits to feeling that sinking feeling at 2-0 down, but praised the character shown by his side and felt a tactical change at the break was key.
“It was a massive relief if I’m honest,” said Clifton. “I’ve got to admit that, for about 30 seconds towards the end of the first half, I was down on my knees and wondering what was going on.
“After pre-season was so positive, to be 2-0 down after two defensive mistakes felt more like last season.
“But I thought we were playing well and were creating chances, so I knew we were still in the game.
“We made changes early and got ourselves further up the pitch and, in truth, the second half was a very different story.
“In pre-season we were often behind at half time and came back to win, so this was in keeping with that.
“We got the front three in the game much more and it paid dividends for us.
“Cal is very dynamic and direct and it was no surprise to me that he got his goals, he played really well.
“But I also thought Harvey Robertson, Harvey Wirkowski and Sam Carter made a big difference off the bench.
“Robertson set up three goals very quickly, so the changes we made helped massively.
“To be honest, I did think that the red card their lad picked up conceding the penalty was very harsh and it really helped us get over the line.
“We’ll not get carried away, we know that tougher tests are ahead of us.
“But, after last season, it’s great to get that monkey off our backs and start in a positive fashion.”
Tigers: Rigby, Parker-Meadows, Johnson, Henderson, Gilbert, Calvert, Millinson, Bilicz, Yambasu, Davies, Compton. Subs used: Carter, Martin, Robertson, Wirkowski. Not used: Blake.
Attendance: 110.
