HOLBEACH UNITED 2
WELLINGBOROUGH WHITWORTH 1
Scorers George Zuerner and Lewis Leckie took the plaudits as Holbeach United overcame an early red card to beat Wellingborough Whitworth 2-1 on Saturday.
Zuerner’s first-half effort gave the Tigers an advantage on ten minutes, but Jack Dyson hit back to level the ChromaSport UCL Premier Division clash on 26 minutes.
Things took a turn for the worse for Seb Hayes’ side when Joe Smith was sent off for a studs-up tackle on the half-hour, only for Whitworth to have Ryan Baxter dismissed after the break.
That set the stage for Leckie to bury a 79th-minute winner, which moves Holbeach up to fifth in the table.
Hayes felt his side were value for their fifth victory of the season and heaped praise on Zuerner and Leckie for taking his advice on board, although he was disappointed to see his side have a man sent off for the third time in five games.
“I’ve been nagging George about timing his runs into the box a bit better,” said Hayes. “So, to see him score the way he did was great.
“He’s a real goal-threat from midfield and is a player that is capable of scoring in spells. He’s on-form at the minute and I’m really pleased with him.
“Likewise with Lewis, I’ve been on his case about holding the ball up better. On Saturday he was outstanding, especially when we had ten men.
“He was a real handful with his strength and pace – and was a threat in behind, which is where his goal came from.
“I think Whitworth will have left feeling they deserved more after their strong first half showing. But we rallied after the break and, even with ten men, looked the better side.
“So, when they had a man sent off, it was just a matter of whether we could get that goal. Thankfully we did and I feel we deserved the points.
“Obviously, it was disappointing to get Joe sent off. It was his follow-through which got him the red, as his studs were up.
“I’m a bit torn over it as I do feel that all of our red cards were harsh. I can’t really tell the lads not to dive into tackles, as it’s an instinctive process. But maybe we need to stand our ground a bit better and not lunge in if we can help it.
“It’s the consistency that annoys me. We’ve been on the receiving end of similar tackles and elbows that haven’t even been yellow cards, which just winds you up.”
Holbeach went ahead when Mitch Griffiths picked out Will Bird, who headed the ball against a defender before teeing-up Zuerner to fire home.
However, Dyson beat the home offside trap to level for the visitors – minutes before Smith saw red.
Despite being down to ten, the Tigers created a host of chances. Bird headed wide, Griffiths sent a free-kick wide and Bird blasted over before Baxter’s second yellow evened the numbers.
From then on it was one-way traffic before Leckie grabbed the winner. The striker raced through and saw his angled drive finally cross the line after hitting both posts.
Griffiths and new signing Jack Smith both went close before the final whistle, but a more severe scoreline would perhaps have been harsh on the away side.
Holbeach host Sleaford Town tonight (Wednesday) in the UCL KO Cup (7.45pm).
Tigers: Drury, Harker, Jackson, Cartwight, Braithwaite, Warfield, Joe Smith, Zuerner, Griffiths, Bird (Jack Smith), Leckie (Keeble).
