Harborough Town 2
Holbeach United 4
Debutant George Zuerner netted twice as Holbeach United won a bad-tempered ChromaSport UCL Premier Division clash at Harborough Town 4-2 on Saturday.
Signed from Lincoln Moorlands Railway last week, ex-Spalding United midfielder Zuerner marked his Tigers’ bow with the opening goal on 30 minutes at Bowden’s Park.
Zak Munton doubled the Holbeach lead eight minutes later, but Harborough pulled one back before half-time.
Zuerner’s second, a rebound after Mitch Griffiths had hit the post, made it 3-1 to Holbeach before a mass brawl erupted following a late tackle on keeper Ricky Drury.
A mass brawl followed, with the hosts having a player sent off for striking Mitch Griffiths and home fans also coming onto the field to confront Holbeach players.
Although the Tigers had no players booked, both sides have been reported to the FA for failing to control their players.
The ten-man of Harborough hit back with a penalty, conceded by Stacy Cartwright, soon after – but a late Charley Sanders goal ensured it was back-to-back wins for Holbeach.
Boss Seb Hayes, who has now steered his side to five wins from their last seven games, was pleased to see battling qualities from his charges and praised Zuerner’s impact.
“I felt the lads did everything that I’ve been asking for,” enthused Hayes. “It wasn’t a splendid footballing performance.
“But we out-worked and out-battled them, which pleased me more.
“We put out a very experienced side and it really worked in our favour.
“For whatever reason, we seemed to get under their skin too – prompting a melee which saw Ricky (Drury) get hurt and Mitch (Griffiths) punched. Their fans even came onto the pitch to confront my players.
“I have no complaints about my players, they did nothing wrong and simply stood up for themselves.
“That seemed to lift Harborough and they threatened to pinch a point late on, but we held on.
“I was very pleased with George. It took him 30 seconds to agree to join us, which is refreshing. He had a great debut and was signed with next season in mind.
“It was also great for Zak to get a deserved goal.”
Holbeach now prepare to host Newport Pagnell Town on Wednesday night (7.45pm).
Tigers: Drury, Tinkler, Cartwright, Madigan, N Jackson, Pinner, Warfield, Zuerner (Muldrew), Griffiths, Munton, Sanders.
