Northampton Sileby Rangers 3
Holbeach United 2
Caretaker boss Martyn Cundy paid tribute to his patched-up Holbeach United side after seeing two late goals deny them what would have been an incredible away win at Northampton Sileby Rangers on Saturday.
Missing no less than ten players ahead of the clash, goals in either half from Aaron Eyett and Tommy Treacher put the Tigers 2-1 up with just nine minutes remaining in the ChromaSport UCL Premier Division clash at Fernie Fields.
However, strikes from Sileby’s Andrew Hall, Scott Sandy and Nathaniel Ansu sentenced Holbeach to a 3-2 defeat – not a bad feat for a side that looked into postponing the game on the morning of the match.
Cundy had to call upon veteran defender Dean Elston and Reserve team players Davy Shepherd, Jamie Ward, Gary Chappell and Callum Davies – meaning their ChromaSport PDFL PFA Senior Cup clash with Pinchbeck United was called off.
The stand-in manager admits that it was a tough situation for all involved, but praised the effort of those who made the trip.
“We had so many players dropping out,” admitted Cundy. “It was a real nightmare situation.
“I’ll be honest, we even looked into calling the game off – that’s how bad things got. People will say we’ve got other club teams to call upon, but it wasn’t that simple.
“In the end, the only call was to postpone the Reserve team match.
“But for those players that did travel, I thought they were absolutely brilliant.
“Tommy Treacher scored one of the best goals we’ve scored this season, while Dean Elson didn’t look out of place at all.
“Davy Shepherd was a breath of fresh air at left back too, while the other Reserve lads showed great attitude.
“It was a fantastic away performance and we deserved at least a point.
“At 2-1 up with nine minutes to play I thought we’d get there. I feel sorry for the lads.”
Cundy did confirm after the game that he has no interest in the Holbeach job full time. More on that in Thursday’s Spalding Voice.
Tigers: Drury, Walton, Shepherd, N Jackson, Elston, Tinkler, P Smith (Ward), Muldrew, Eyett, J Smith (Davies), Treacher. Not used Chappell.
