St Neots Saints 2
Holbeach United 6
Jordan Keeble notched his first Holbeach United goal in an emphatic 6-2 UCL Knockout Cup win at St Neots Saints on Tuesday night.
The talented young striker completed the scoring in injury time at Rowley Park in a game that co-boss Graham Drury admitted was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests.
Ollie Pinner put a relatively strong Tigers team ahead on 22 minutes, only for the hosts to level six minutes later.
Tommy Treacher put Holbeach back ahead on the stroke of half time, but a 30-yard stunner levelled matters early in the second period.
However, two cracking finishes from debutant Paul Newcombe (51 & 65) either side of Gary King’s free kick on the hour effectively settled the tie, before Keeble rounded off the win with a super strike late on.
A satisfied Drury was delighted to give a few fringe players some game time – and hinted that he and John Chand will continue that policy for the foreseeable future in the competition.
He said: “It was good to give a few of the lads some game time. Paul and young Jordan came in – and to be fair to them they’ve scored some cracking goals.
“I thought we controlled the game for 20 minutes, but let them back into it – and to be fair they were well on top for a small period.
“We improved in the second half and in the end gave ourselves a bit of breathing space.
“My main positive is that we’ve given some players vital game time. Obviously it depends who we draw along the way, but we’ll probably look to use this competition as a way of keeping people fresh – a bit like Premier League teams do in the Carling Cup.”
Among those to get a run out was triallist Callum Madigan, who played for Uxbridge last season but has since moved to the local area.
Next up for the Tigers is a home FA Vase clash with another UCL Division One side in the shape of Blackstones on Saturday (3pm).
In the next round of the KO Cup, they’ll host Rothwell Corinthians.
Tigers: Lovelace, Delahoy (Cartwright 35), Warfield (Newcombe 30), Allen, Stevens, Pinner, Madigan, Fuller, C Parker, King, Treacher (Keeble 46).
Tuesday’s UCL KO Cup results
AFC Kempston Rovers 1 Harrowby United 0; Burton Park Wanderers 1 AFC Rushden & Diamonds 7; Desborough Town 2 Woodford United 1; St Neots Town Youth & Saints 2 Holbeach United 6; Yaxley 3 Eynesbury Rovers 0.
