Pinchbeck United 2
Loughborough Students 0
Lewis Thorogood wasn’t too downbeat as Pinchbeck United suffered a 2-0 home defeat against Loughborough Students in their Uhlsport UCL Premier Division North opener on Saturday.
Goals in each half from Ethan O’Toole (45) and Matthew Bowman (64) earned the visitors all three points in front of a crowd of 50 at the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field.
It always looked a very tough opener for Thorogood’s Knights, with Loughborough expected to be amongst this season’s title contenders.
“They are as good as I expected them to be,” admitted Thorogood. “Very well drilled, very fit, great stamina and, to be honest, they didn’t seem to break a sweat all game.
“We had a good chance at 0-0, but other than that it was a tough day for us. It’s a shame as we showed great form in pre-season, but in a way losing 2-0 isn’t a bad result against them.
“It’s a shame that we conceded just before half-time, albeit to a well-worked goal.
“That changed the game a little bit really and they ran us a little ragged after that.
“The highest praise I can give Loughborough is that they play and conduct themselves like a professional outfit.
“It’ll be interesting to see how they go this season, I can’t imagine many teams being on their level.
“For us, we need to dust ourselves down and move forward.
“Pre-season showed that we’re a very capable team and we won’t face teams like Loughborough every week.”
Pinchbeck lost striker Avi Vieira to a calf strain early on, but it was hoped that he’d be fit for tonight’s (Wednesday) derby against Wisbech Town (7.45pm).
Knights: Smith, Simpson, Millar, Parsons, Wiles, Robson, Williams, Stevens, Vieira, Johnson, Foster. Subs (all used): Burdass, Melson, Nuttell, Peasgood. Not used: Wilkinson.
Attendance: 50.
