Sunday Saints (2) vs Stagecoach (1) After back to back wins for the Saints the prospect of 3rd placed Stagecoach visiting Forest Road seemed less daunting and this was the case as two late goals sealed the win for the home side.
Stagecoach took control of the proceedings early on knocking the ball around with confidence and making it really difficult for the Saints to gain any possession.The little possession they got was soon lost through sloppy play and bad decision making .
Stagecoach took advantage of their dominace and from a cross a mix up in the Saints goal mouth led to Mike Olive smashing the ball home through a crowd of players to give the visitors a half time lead. 0-1.
Captain Matt Pugh led the war cry at the break stating this had been the poorest half all season and that we could still get something from the game if we play as a team.
The team talk worked as Hay started much better second half as the visitors started to tire. Late on in the Saints hard work finally paid off when a Ben Bevan corner was not cleared by the Stagecoach defence and first to react was Saints defender Dan Scaife who drove the ball home from close range to score his first of the season and make the score 1-1.
With time running out top scorer Craig Forsyth found some space in the box and calmly placed the ball past the diving Stagecoach keeper Green to give the Saints an unexpected lead.
With minutes of the game remaining the Saints were holding on but could have furthered their lead when striker Nathan Heighways long range lob went just wide of the post. Ft 2-1.
Tough to pick a man of the match as Dan Horrigan was lively, Dan Scaife had a great second half. But for me it had to be Joe Emmitt who never stopped working and gave it everything in the heart of midfield.