MATCH REPORT SAT 27 DECEMBER 025

SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE DIV 1

LETCHWORTH GC EAGLES 1 STOTFOLD RES 1

Overall a young Letchworth side put in a good performance after playing with 10 men for 70 minutes of the game following the dismissal of Redha Zikri for violent conduct. Six players in the squad play for the Letchworth u18 floodlit league team. Leo Collins made his debut for the first team at 17 years of age and was the manager’s man of the match.

They took an early lead through Stan Clare after good work by Kain Brown and Redha Zikri, with chances falling to both sides before the game changed with the sending off of Zikri who reacted after a dangerous out of control challenge by a Stotfold player that was punished only by a yellow card. The 10 men defended well until 35 minutes when the numbers finally made a difference and Stotfold scored the equalising goal.

Both teams changed formation in the second half and despite playing with a player less the home side still created chances to win the game and had 2 goal bound efforts cleared off the goal line by a covering defender, in one case by the apparent use of a hand, which the referee did not deem worthy of a penalty.

At the other end keeper George Coomes was kept busy and suffered a kick on the head from one challenge, which earned the Stotfold player just a yellow card. Both sides pressed to get the winning goal but in the end the game finished all square, which was probably a good result for the Eagles given their reduced number for much of the game.