Holbeach Utd 2
Cogenhoe Utd 3
Saturday proved to be a day to forget for Holbeach United… for two differing reasons.
The Tigers slipped to third in the UCL Premier Division after being handed a 3-2 reverse by Cogenhoe United at Carter’s Park, despite early efforts from Jake Duffy (14) and Matt Nolan (23) putting them 2-1 ahead.
But it was an even earlier injury to defensive lynchpin Jonny Allen that Holbeach were left to rue most.
Allen, one of the most popular players on the South Holland scene, suffered a broken tibia and fibula in his right leg after a three-way collision in the tenth minute that also involved Holbeach keeper Nick Conroy.
The incident delayed the match for more than half an hour as medical staff – including Tigers’ physio Carol Holland – treated him and he was transported to hospital.
Although he didn’t require surgery, Allen – who spent several months on the sideline with a knee injury sustained playing for Spalding United last term – will almost certainly miss the remainder of this season.
Although goals from Karl Bates (13) and Dan Thomason (25 and 70) left the Tigers pointless, co-boss John Chand wasn’t thinking about the title race after the game.
He said: “The result was correct on the day, they deserved to win. It’s a bit of a setback for us in the title race, but we’ll not waste much time thinking about it to be honest.
“Injuries like the one Jonny has suffered put everything else into perspective. It was unbelievably bad and I’m just so disappointed for him.
“He’ll be in plaster for three months and will essentially be out of work. We’ll do everything we can to look after him as a football club. We do our best to look after our own here.
“He’ll be back better than ever, though. Look at Ollie Pinner, he’s had a couple of similar breaks but is still playing to a very good level.
“We must give credit to Cogenhoe for their performance and move on to what is a very big FA Vase game on Saturday.”
Cogenhoe, who came into the game in tenth place, started much the brighter as Alfie Taylor fired wide when well place and Bates forced a smart stop from Conroy.
Then came the 35-minute break following Allen’s injury, but the Cooks’ momentum remained and they duly went ahead on 13 minutes when Bates fired home a rebound after Conroy had spilled Danny Harmon’s cross from the right.
Holbeach hit back instantly, though, with midfield maestro Duffy firing home direct from a 25-yard free kick moments later.
It proved to be the spark the Tigers needed to get their heads back into the game and Lee Dube forced a stunning stop from visiting keeper Josh Thomson as he powered a header towards goal.
From the resulting corner on 23 minutes, Nolan rose to head Lee Beeson’s delivery into the back of the net.
Holbeach failed to kick on, though, and parity was restored just two minutes later when Thomason raced clear to fire home.
Ben Brown and Nolan went close to putting the Tigers back ahead just before the interval, while after the break a clean-through Dube lofted an effort over the bar when it seemed certain he’d score.
Cogenhoe then came back into the match, with Conroy forced to save at Dean Lukeman’s feet.
The Tigers’ number one could do nothing about Thomason’s winner 20 minutes from time, however, as he finished superbly following Lukeman’s pass.
The loss isn’t catastrophic for Holbeach, as they remain eight points behind leaders AFC Rushden and Diamonds with three games in hand.
But Allen’s absence will leave Chand and Graham Drury with a sizeable gap to fill for the remainder of the campaign.
Tigers: Conroy, Allen (Parker), Cartwright, Steadman, Brown, Miller, Beeson, Duffy, Nolan (King), Clarke (Warfield), Dube.
Attendance: 112.
