Oadby Town 2
Holbeach United 3
Strikers Josh Ford and Jake Clitheroe delivered the goods as Holbeach United dodged a potential banana skin in their bid for ChromaSport UCL Premier Division glory on Saturday.
The Tigers came from behind to beat struggling Oadby Town 3-2, moving up to third in the standings in the process.
Next to bottom Oadby took the lead after 17 minutes through Sam Hollis, as a depleted Holbeach side toiled on a very tough Freeway Park pitch.
However, Darren Jarvis’ side – who were missing a host of key men – levelled through the in-form Clitheroe on the half-hour.
The Tigers were much improved after the interval and looked to be sitting pretty when Ford bagged twice (57 and 68) minutes to take his tally for the season to 11.
Ollie Brown-Hill converted an 82nd minute penalty for Oadby to set up a tense final few minutes, but he was sent off before the final whistle as Holbeach held on for their 12 league win of the campaign.
Pleased Tigers chief Jarvis always knew his side were in for a tough game against a side he think are better than their league position suggests – and was just happy to come away with three points.
“It was a very tough game,” admitted Jarvis. “Going to Oadby, despite their lowly league position, was always going to be tough.
“They’ve got three or four very good players that anybody in this league would like in their side.
“The conditions were also very tough, so it was all about getting three points.
“I thought we looked quite comfortable once we got ahead, but the referee gave them a soft penalty – which I saw as no more than a 50/50 – and it really left us up against it late on.
“At this stage of the season, with the bad weather coming and pitches suffering, style goes out of the window.
“No game is going to be easy, but we need to make sure we compete – and that’s what we did on Saturday.
“Obviously the league is taking shape now and it is pretty clear that Kempston and Nirvana are looking strong. We’ve still got to play both of those sides twice, though, so we can be happy with our position at present.
“By winning games like this, we are giving ourselves the opportunity to be involved at the top end of the table – but there are a few teams who can say the same.”
Holbeach handed a debut to Scottish youth international Jordan Neil at Freeway Park.
The winger, who is due to have a trial with Premier League giants Manchester United in 2016, is on loan from neighbours Stamford.
Holbeach visit Deeping Rangers on Tuesday night (7.45pm).
Tigers: Drury, Worthington, Ward, Jackson, Warfield, King, Neil, Gale, Tidswell, Ford, Clitheroe. Subs: Dougill, Deykin, Roberts.
Attendance: 91.
