Sholing 1-1 Larkhall Athletic

Scorers : Wayne Robinson 89  /  Harry Simons 16

Date: Tuesday 25 October 2022, 7:45pm – Southern League Division 1 South

Venue:  Imperial Homes Stadium  Attendance: 153

Sholing : Ryan Gosney, Brad Targett (Jake Cope 74), Marv McLean, Rob Flooks, Dan Miller, Josh Batt (TJ Cuthbertson 58), Lee Wort, Byron Mason ©, Dan Mason, Sami Makhloufi (Wayne Robinson 74), Owen Roundell.  Unused subs : Ryan Cluett & Charlie Wagstaffe

Bookings :

Larkhall Athletic : Alfie Kelsey, Cian McManus, Oluwatoba Obitayo (Harley Prior 45), Sam Boulton, Thomas Bradley, Jack Goodall, Harry Simons, Harrison Lea (Josiah Dunston 60), Dawid Regula, Harry Warwick, Jordan Williams .  Unused subs : Bradley Norris, Thomas Warren & Chris Humphries

Bookings : Jack Goodall

Man of the Match : Byron Mason

Wayne Robinson salvaged a point for the Boatmen with a 89th minute equaliser.

Team News : Rob Flooks returned following his 3 match suspension, with Bryon moving into midfield.  Larkhall only had 1 player in their squad from our previous encounter last November.

It was a breezy but mild evening as Sholing started on the front foot. Dan Mason showed strength & control to get past his marker and run into the box, but his cut back was behind Wort and Byron couldn't keep his shot on target.

Byron's cross from the right was met with a header by a Larkhall player that dropped just wide of his own post as Sholing had the bulk of possession, but were to go behind on 16 minutes.  A Larkhall player evaded two challenges on the right wing by the half way line and the visitors suddenly had an overload on the left, where Harry Simons measured a low shot from 18 yards inside the post.

The visitors almost doubled their lead on 25 mins, but a shot hit the outside of the post.  We should have been level soon after, Brad Targett found space inside the box on the right, but went for power over placement and blazed narrowly over.

Similiar to his run earlier in the half, Dan Mason attacked the near post, might have tried to squeeze the ball in, but went for the pass, with Roundell's effort blocked.   Rob Flooks ran from deep in his own half before being up-ended on the edge of the area. D-Dan's freekick went straight into the wall.   HT 0-1

From a freekick out on the right, Byron won the header, but was frustrated as the ball bounced near the far post with none of his teammates following in for the tap-in.  TJ replaced Josh Batt as we reverted to 4 at the back on the hour mark.

For all our possession, it was still a game of nearly moments as we failed to work the keeper.  Meanwhile, Larkhall looked dangerous on the counter and should have put the game to bed on 73 mins, when a cross from the left was put wide from close range by the player in the middle. The visitors looked a much better team than the 19th place in the table would indicate.

Dan Mason looked to be in on the right side of the box, but an excellent sliding block denied him. Jake Cope & Wayne Robinson have been in excellent in changing games recently and when they came on for the last 15 minutes, we started to build some momentum.  We hadn't managed a shot on target up to the 89th minute, but finally did so and got the equaliser.

Jake Cope whipped in a cross on the run from the right side of the area into a host of bodies in the 6 yard box, the Larkhall keeper was unable to grab the ball and WAYNE ROBINSON was on hand to poke the ball in from 5 yards.  FT 1-1

Dave Diaper : "Another example of league tables not to be taken seriously in October (top and bottom).  I admit we weren’t at our best, once Larkhall scored they parked the bus, but looked dangerous on the counter attack. The lads showed good character and kept at it and got just rewards in the end."

Next Game : Sholing v Exmouth Town - Saturday 5 November 3pm - Southern League