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Manchester Wanderers 2 ; Birmingham Citadel 1 (Simon Black)

Birmingham Citadel came into this game full of confidence after their performances in the last two games. However this confidence was soon undone by possibly the worst performance for months. Having said that, it wasn't as if Citadel were outplayed as Manchester weren't exactly at their best either. This resulted in a poor game in general, with the major factor being Manchester seemed to want the win more than Citadel. Manchester hit the bar with a 20 yard chip in the first few minutes and took the lead when a poor clearance from goalie Stu ended up at the fee of a Manchester player midway in Citadel's half. He then calmly lobbed it back over Stu's head to give Manchester the lead. As for Citadel, there wasn't really much to talk about, the defence was all over the place, the midfield none existant, and the strikers barely touching the ball. The only saving grace was that it was only 1-0 at half time. HT 1-0.

Citadel came out for the second half with a point to prove. Unfortunately they failed. Although on top for most of the second half, they never really created that many chances. One guilt edge chance fell to Simon Black. With the keeper grounded Simon had the ball in the box with only a defender on the line to beat. However, somehow Simon placed the ball straight at the defender and wasted the chance. Then Manchester scored their second. From a long throw, Ramoth was left to challenge one of the bigger Manchester players in the air and it was no contest. 2-0. To make matters worse Citadel conceded a penalty when Dave Maybury brought down a Manchester forward. Luckily for Citadel the penalty came crashing back off the bar and out. Citadel were still dominating possesion though and a breakthrough came when after a scramble in the box Simon managed to turn the ball in. Although there was only just under five minutes remaining Citadel still had time for one last push. With time running out Citadel earned the chance to rescue the game. A Manchester defender for some reason decided to handle the ball in the box and Citadel were awarded a penalty. Shane stepped up to take it and blasted the ball both high and wide. Citadel had wasted their last chance. All in all this was a poor display from Citadel, and a timely reminder that we can't just expect things to happen, we have to work for them. FT 2-1

Team:
Stuart Stanley
Chris Black
David Maybury
Paul Dickinson
Mark Sharman
Steve Buchan
Richard Black
Marc Richardson
Simon Black
Ramoth Gudza

Gareth Murphy

Subs:
Shane Hopkins for Gareth Murphy
Darren Selby for Steve Buchan
Alan Velvett
James Peck