Eynesbury Rovers 0
Holbeach United 3
Seb Hayes praised his Holbeach United side as they earned a fine 3-0 win at high-flying Eynesbury Rovers on Saturday – despite playing 50 minutes with ten men.
The Tigers looked to be cruising to victory at the Alfred Hall Memorial Ground when Spencer Tinkler (22) and Charley Sanders (28) scored copycat headers from corners.
But a red card to Stacy Cartwright on 40 minutes, dubbed “unfair” by Hayes, gave the hosts hope of mounting a comeback in the second period.
However, Holbeach shut-up shop to frustrate Rovers – and Sanders even added number three from the spot late on to clinch a fourth ChromaSport UCL Premier Division win on the spin.
Boss Hayes was pleased that his side followed his half-time message to frustrate Eynesbury and felt the three points was richly deserved.
“I’m not happy with the red card,” said the Tigers chief. “Stacy won the ball and only really caught him on his follow through.
“To put it into context, one of their players led with his elbow on Ricky Drury, but was only booked. The lack of consistency really bothers me.
“But overall it was another good day for us. I don’t think we played as much football as we can, but the game didn’t require us to.
“We spoke at half time about how we needed to shut up shop and play on the break. I told the lads that we’d win if we did.
“What pleases me most is that they really listened and we did indeed go on and win the game. You feel like you’ve earned your corn as a manager in moments like that.
“Eynesbury didn’t show enough patience and we were able to pick them off on the break. If I’m honest, we could have scored a few more goals on the day.
“We knew that playing 4-4-2 with Zak Munton and Mitch Griffiths out wide would cause them problems with their pace, while they couldn’t handle Charley Sanders and Tommy Treacher.
“We defended really well as a unit, but the front four were unbelievable. I always say that a team needs three things to be successful: ability, work-rate and team ethic. We had all three of those attributes on Saturday and the lads deserved their win.
“It’s now seven wins out of nine and four on the bounce, which is our best run since I’ve been here.
“I’m very pleased with how the lads are playing, but you can never be satisfied in football. I want us to keep going and go unbeaten to the end of the season.”
Youngster Lewis Harker became the latest teenager to make his first team debut as a 70th-minute sub on Saturday.
Tigers: Drury, Tinkler, Cartwright, Madigan, N Jackson, Dougill (Nicholson 82), Warfield, Munton (Zuerner 75), Griffiths, Treacher (Harker 70), Sanders. Not used: Davies.
