Postal ALC 5 - Middlefield Wasps 1 - Div 2 East - Webster Park - 18/9/2021

TEAM - 1. G.Cormack 2. A.Riddell 3. L.Mackie 4. J.Black 5. B.Patterson 6. M.Hunter 7. R.Law 8. R.Lamb 9. L.Mewse 10. S.Ure 11. R.Insch 12. P.Coutts 14. N.Cain 15. G.Davidson 16. R.Laing. 17. K.Dowbekin

OPPOSITION MOTM – L.Mewse

A mild September afternoon saw Postal take on struggling Middlefield Wasps. The Wasps have only 1 point on the board so far so Postal were confident of moving back up the league.

With Carter working and Clark unavailable, Postal welcomed Black and Hunter back into the starting 11.

The game started with a bang but it was the away side who would be celebrating after only 45 seconds on the clock. Postal failed to clear their lines on the right of the defence and when the ball broke to a Wasps player just inside the box, he finished well, low to Cormack’s right hand post. Sloppy from Postal when concentration had been discussed prior to the game. 0-1.

Postal were looking more than a tad uncomfortable during the opening exchanges. Middlefield made no secret of going direct to their giant number 20 up top and tall number 11. Postal were also struggling to get their passing game going with the weight of pass a problem during the opening period.

Postal had their first half chance on 9 minutes. A good exchange between Insch and Mewse on the Postal left saw Mewse feed Insch inside. Insch shot from the edge of the box went over the bar though.

A minute later, Middlefield could have doubled their lead. Postal were giving away a lot of freekicks and it was from one of these on the Postal left that saw the number 11 get away from Patterson at the back post. Luckily his header went just wide.

On 26 minutes, a decent run by Ure into the box saw his shot blocked. When it fell to Lamb on the edge of the box his shot went over the bar.

5 minutes later, Postal equalised. A Law through ball saw the initial attempt blocked but when it fell to Mewse inside the box on the Postal left, he did really well to swivel and curl the ball into the postage stamp. Good goal. 1-1.

Postal were starting to look a bit more relaxed now and were the better team for the remaining 15 minutes without creating any real clear cut chances.

HALF TIME – POSTAL ALC 1 – Middlefield Wasps 1

Postal went over the top direct from kick off and it nearly paid off. Lamp sent the ball over the top to Ure on the Postal right. His cross found Insch at the back post but his header lacked power and the keeper easily saved.

Ten minutes later and Postal took the lead. The ball was sent down the Postal right wing. Mese collected and did really well to hit the bye line and send a low cross into the path of Hunter who had the easiest of tasks to side foot into the net. 2-1.

Five minutes later and Postal doubled their lead to give themselves a bit of daylight. The ball was won in the middle of the park and played into Insch just inside the Middlefield box on the Postal left. He composed himself and drilled it low into the net (under the keepers body). 3-1.

The sidelines thought this might have opened the floodgates but to their credit Middlefield kept plugging away (sending the ball into the air whenever they could, mind you). Thankfully Patterson and Black at the back seemed to have got their number in the second half, with Black in particular doing well defensively.

Postal’s 4th goal never came till the 35th minute of the second half. A Lamb corner was met by a Hunter header for his second of the match for the young midfielder. 4-1.

5 minutes before the end of the match Postal completed their scoring. A long switch from Ure to Riddle, left to right, saw Riddle get his cross into the box. Substitute Cain did well to control it and hit it high into the net. 5-1.

Overall job done for Postal today but it certainly wasn’t as convincing as the score line might suggest. Some real nervousness and frustration on the Postal sideline as time wore on with Middlefield not being put to bed. Great to keep the unbeaten league run going though and even better to take all 3 points. Well Done.