Northampton Sileby Rangers 3
Holbeach United 1
Struggling Sileby handed Holbeach United a surprise UCL Premier Division reverse on Saturday – and the Tigers now look extremely unlikely to finish in the top three.
Goals either side of half-time from master marksman Michael Byrne (41 and 50) left Darren Jarvis’ side with a mountain to climb at Fernie Fields.
An absolute cracker from Gary King (70) gave Holbeach hope of launching a comeback, but Karabo Motshweni struck two minutes later to nip any hopes of a grandstand finish in the bud.
Disappointed Tigers chief Jarvis admits that he and number two Tom Roberts may have been a little off with their tactics.
But he also felt the players should shoulder some of the blame too, with a surprising lack of end product on show against a side that started the day in the drop zone.
Jarvis said: “It was very frustrating. We had a lot of possession, but just seemed to have no end product whatsoever.
“That’s partly down to the players and their application on the pitch.
“But it’s also partly down to Robbo and myself – we got the shape wrong.
“Sadly, there’s not a lot of width in the players we had available and that contributed to the loss.
“It’s disappointing, as we had an awful lot of the ball. But we got undone by a couple of very similar goals that came from long balls over the top.
“We’re not the fastest team at the back and it did expose us a little.
“I don’t think there is any reason for us to be downbeat, it was more disappointing than anything else.
“But these things happen and we move on.”
Tigers: Conroy, Worthington, Delahoy, Brown, Warfield, Kirby, Newman, King, Tidswell, Clarke (Newcombe), Sanders
Attendance: 36.
