Ollerton Town vs. Amy Louise Shaw XI
Derbyshire Community Football Club met arguably their toughest competition to date when they went up against Amy Louise Shaw XI at Ollerton Town's Buckley Brown Stadium in support of John Eastwood Hospice.It was an evenly matched start to the game as both sides cancelled each other out with chances created.
That was until twenty minutes in when Amy Louise Shaw XI struck first. An unclear referee decision saw the hosts win a free-kick. It was taken quickly and Craig Stanton found himself in plenty of space with just the goalkeeper to beat, making no mistake to give his side the lead.Community re-organised themselves and equalised shortly after the water break, Morgan Cooper's finessed effort into the far left corner found it's way past the keeper, levelling the game.It didn't take long for that lead to be restored as Callam Atkinson beat the offside trap and placed the ball calmly past Community goalkeeper, Kris Marina, to make it 2-1.
The advantage was doubled moments later as Atkinson got his second of the game. A ball played across the face of goal was judged to be a forward pass leading to claims of offside from the Community defence, but to their surprise, the flag stayed down and Amy Louise Shaw XI stormed ahead with the score 3-1.
Community had chances of their own just before the break, Sean Byrne-Dineen and Tyler Farnsworth forcing the host goalkeeper into an array of saves to keep his side ahead.The second-half started in the visitor's favour, a Tom Kemp inspired half-time team talk woke a fire inside the Community players and his faith in making no outfield changes at the break paid off early into the second half.Stephen King's solo effort down the left hand side put him one-on-one with the goalkeeper and while he couldn't convert, the ball fell to Samir Bajja who remained composed to slot the ball home to make it 3-2.
The comeback was complete mere minutes later, King receiving the ball in space on the edge of the area, this time making no mistake to level the scoring at 3-3, but the searing heat got the better of Community as they succumbed to the intense weather conditions, a long ball over the top was missed by Community defenders as Ash Solomon beared down on goal and put his side back ahead.
The hard work to get back into the game was being undone further, confident footwork from Atkinson secured his hat-trick as he knocked the ball past an oncoming Dan Townsend in the Community goal to make it 5-3.
On the opposite end of the field, Morgan Cooper showcased some confident footwork of his own, dribbling the ball past multiple Amy Louise Shaw XI defenders as he cut into the area from wide on the right hand side before being brought down in the area.
The referee shown no hesitation in pointing to the spot, Cooper got back to his feet and made no mistake, tucking the ball away to make it 5-4.And then the onslaught began, a cross from the right hand side saw a rare error from Townsend as Atkinson beat him to the cross and headed the ball into the empty goal to give space between the two sides.
The game was then put beyond doubt as Amy Louise Shaw XI extended that lead to 7-4, another long ball over the top took a deflection from a Community defender directly into the path of Jamie Tryner who made light work of the task at hand.Tired legs appeared to be the cause of the final two host goals as Amy Louise Shaw XI continued to press.
Atkinson scoring his fifth goal of the game. A pass dragged back from just outside of the six-yard box on the right hand side into his path where he made no mistake from seven yards out.His sixth came shortly after, beating multiple Community defenders on his way into the box and his well-placed finish found it's way into the back of the net via the inside of the post.Cooper's excellently hit free-kick broke through the wall into the bottom corner rounding off an impressive hat-trick on his debut, but it would prove to be nothing more than consolation goal as this would prove to be the last kick of the game.
An eventful day on the pitch finishing with a 9-5 score-line was matched by the turnout off the field as supporters piled into the Buckley Brown Stadium to support both sides and help raise funds for a very worthwhile cause.
The event saw everything from a bouncy castle and BBQ all the way to a signed Oasis picture being auctioned off. With more fundraising still to be done, the total raised currently stands at a staggering £3,508.90 for John Eastwood Hospice in memory of Amy Louise Shaw.