Eastwood Community 4-2 Bulwell

Jack Havron and Anthony Bedward were forced to get Eastwood back into the game after going a goal behind on two separate occasions.

The home side pushed on in the second half and Kye Hall marked his debut with a goal, winning two penalties and all round excellent performance. Havron took advantage of Hall's nuisance making and finished the game with a brace.

The game started as many would have expected, with Bulwell taking the initiative and putting some early pressure on Eastwood's defense. Eastwood stood sturdy and keeper Andy Fretwell was called into action twice within the first ten minutes, pulling off two saves to keep Bulwell from taking the lead.

Bulwell's early spell eventually told in the 16th minute when new man Tyrone Gray curled in a fantastic effort beyond the keeper and things were looking bleak for the home side. The visitors maintained their dominance for a good fifteen minutes and threatened to stretch their lead, but the post came to Eastwood's rescue.

Eastwood eventually grew into the game and found new signing Kye Hall to be a great outlet for removing the pressure, he found himself in the area and was denied his first goal by Bulwell's Ashley Chadwick. It was all too clear to the referee that Chadwick had used his hand, giving Eastwood a lifeline in the form of a penalty kick. The referee deemed the incident worthy of a red card and sent the offender for an early bath.

Captain Jack Havron was more than happy to step up and stash the penalty away, giving the hosts a much needed lift. The shift in confidence was easy to see as Eastwood stepped up their game before half time, Steve Wright had a chance to put them ahead but scooped it high over the bar.

It was a similar story at the beginning of the second half, however this time it was Eastwood that showed their early intentions with a deflected shot from Anthony Bedward that went wide and an early chance for Kye Hall that the keeper was on top of.

Bulwell were to re-take the lead against the run of play after they began to cause problems for the hosts. Jake Fisher came near but his effort was blocked by McCaul and deflected away, minutes later they played a clever through ball to find Conor Carter unmarked at the far post to volley home.

Eastwood were not to be too disheartened by the goal and pressed on all the same, they were rewarded with an equaliser from Bedward, pouncing on a loose ball inside the area. Bulwell had barely had time to re-organise themselves before debutante Hall picked up his first goal for the club, he got onto the end of a pinpoint long ball from Jake Danby and rounded the keeper to slot the ball into an empty net.

That elusive win was in Eastwood's grasp, but the game was still up for grabs. Bulwell found themselves in on goal, but Fretwell stood firm and made a great save to preserve their lead.

In the late stages Eastwood began to control the game and Bulwell's passing became uncharacteristically sloppy, their attacking movement proved easy enough for Eastwood to deal with.

It looked as though the home side were happy to see out the victory, until Fretwell launched a defence splitting goal kick that found Hall, he got through one-on-one in a similar position to his first goal. Hall looked to have picked up a knock at half time, but you wouldn't have guessed it from his strong hold up play and nonstop running throughout the game. This time he was brought down in the area and won another penalty for Eastwood, skipper Havron took the responsibility again, he was initially denied by the keeper but was on hand to tuck away the rebound. Sealing the win in the 92nd minute.

The final whistle was met by a rapturous applause by the home faithful, their unwavering patience finally rewarded.

A surprise, but deserved win for bottom of the league Eastwood, they have shown signs of improvement recently and they worked very hard against a good Bulwell side. Bulwell are likely to be wondering what happened and put this defeat behind them as soon as possible.

Eastwood: Andy Fretwell, Jake Danby, Jordan Leeming, Matt McCaul, Jack Havron (C), Fraser Dulson, Steve Wright, Lewis Bentley, Anthony Bedward, Kye Hall, Kione Gordon.

Subs: Tom Budd, Karl James, Simon Hewer, Lee Bull, Andy Wheatley.

Bulwell: Matt Simpson, Tyrone Gray (Leon Roberts), Tobias Richardson, Jay Knight, Dwayne Soar (C), Jorge De Pina, Daniel Chadwick (Lewis Wheelhouse), Ashley Chadwick, Jake Fisher, Conor Carter, Liam Towle (Tommy Kemp)

Referee: Mark Thomas