Player/boss Ian Dunn admitted that his Pinchbeck United side were saved by a “devastating” second-half spell in Saturday’s 5-3 win over Langtoft United.
The teams turned around at 1-1 in the ChromaSport PDFL Premier Division clash at Knight Street thanks to a Tom Brooks header, but the quality on show wasn’t as high as it has been in recent weeks.
That all changed in the second half, as a cracking Liam Ogden effort put Pinchbeck 2-1 to the good and kick-started a goal-fest. Ash Murrell headed in goal number three minutes later, before Tony
Edwards wrong-footed the Langtoft keeper with an 18-yard strike to make it 4-1.
Two dubious disallowed goals denied Pinchbeck the chance to go further ahead, before Langtoft – whose goals came from Steve Colangelo, Jobi Froud and Ben Moore – hit back with two strikes to make it 4-3 and make life difficult for the hosts.
However, Nick Bishop curled in a rare effort from distance to wrap up the points – leaving Pinchbeck happy to escape with three points.
“It was a game full of mistakes,” admitted Dunn, who watched on from the bench due to an injury. “The pitch was also very damp and heavy.
“To be honest, if we’d have had any more rain it would have been off.
“It really didn’t help us in the first half, we just didn’t get going. But then we came out and produced a devastating five to ten minute spell and pretty much put the game to bed.
“We also had two goals controversially ruled out, so could have been 6-1 up and out of sight.
“I think we felt like we’d won the game at 4-1 and took our foot off the gas and allowed them to get back into the game.
“When they got to 4-3 I was a little worried, but we broke away and grabbed a fifth to seal it.
“I do think it’s a game we’d have lost last season. This year we just have that little bit more quality and experience, which helped us a great deal.
“I do think we need to add a few new faces to the squad, though. We’ve got 14 games to fit into eight weeks, so they are going to come thick and fast between now and the end of the season.”
Pinchbeck face a tough trip to second-placed Whittlesey Athletic this Saturday (2pm).
Pinchbeck: Dickinson, Thompson, A Murrell, Brooks, B Murrell, Bishop, Gardner, Wright, Francis, Ogden, Edwards.
