ANSTEY NOMADS 1-1 EASTWOOD CFC

Anstey Nomads......1 (Armeni 15')
Eastwood CFC .......1 (Harrison 89')

A tremendous second half "backs to the wall" impressive performance earned Eastwood a welcome draw at Anstey.

It was 3rd -v- 14th at the Callington's Community Complex always a tricky place to go. Eastwood made 3 changes from the previous weekend's defeat. McKenna Parton was ruled out and Jack Messom and Kyle Wrenn dropped to the bench. Victor Lusuku and Ayleal Dill both started and there was a first start since February for Connor Wrenn.

The home side started in bright fashion and showed the large crowd, bathed in the Easter sunshine, what a good side they are. Warren Squires in the Eastwood goal was called into action early doors as he tipped over a Connor Wingfield-Brown header after he was played in by Corey Armeni. Kieran Wells then tested Squires with a snap shot.

It wasn’t all one-way though and Kamani Wilson and strike partner Ayleal Dill were beginning to make inroads into the Nomads defence but found the defensive duo of Lewis Gibbens and ‘skipper Jordan Annable a formidable barrier. 12 on the clock and Squires again kept his goal intact with a tremendous save from dangerman Armeni. He was helpless however 3 minutes later. Joel Wolfe slipped a free kick into the box which found Zayn Hakeem’s feet. With a quick turn and a swivel of the hips he played in Armeni who fired home the opener.

No more that the Nomads deserved as they always looked more likely to score as they powered forward none more so than left back Charlie Scanlon who was causing all sorts of problems for the Badgers defence time as he made the left flank his own. 27 gone and Scanlon forced another fine save from the left back and on the half hour Hakeem saw his effort come back off a post. It was all Anstey now as they looked to increase their advantage and the visitors were again indebted to Squires as he turned away a Wells shot.

1-0 at the break but for the superb goalkeeping of Squires it could have been a lot more.

Callum Jones was introduced for the second period and Eastwood upped their game in an attempt to salvage anything from the game. Their game was quicker, more decisive in the last third and the midfield were competing on a par with the Nomads.

Ten minutes in and the best chance for the visitors. Dill found some space down the right and crossed low and hard into the box. Jones, at the far post, connected but the ball was cleared off the line by Ben Bayliss. Wilson went on a rampaging run down the middle with Jones in
support but the run was halted by a fine tackle from Gibbens. Minutes later Squires saw off Brown-Wingfield with a smart save.

It was a fine contest now with the Badgers intent on getting something from the game and Anstey defending well and counter attacking with real purpose.

Both teams had a number of half chances before the scores were level. Just under 10 minutes were left when Substitute Kyle Stovell battled for a loose ball out wide right. After cleverly dispossessing Scanlon his low pass inside found an unmarked Joe Harrison who made no mistake with a low shot inside Logan’s near post. A final few half chances to the home side as the clock wound down but a gutsy defensive display from Eastwood saw both sides sharing two points.

A fine performance by the Red Badgers in contrast to previous weeks with every single member of the Squad showing great courage and determination against one of the top teams in the League.

Manager Paul Rockley relayed these thoughts to me after the game ~ A great point against a very good side, who showed why they have pushed for the top 2 places all season. First half we were indebted to Warren Squires who kept us in it or the game would have been over by half time.

2nd half a change of personnel and team shape made a positive impact and we deserved our goal from the 2nd half performance. A well earned draw. But we must start backing up these results with points against sides in and around and below us or these efforts will count for nothing and we need to end the season on a high

Footnote Stat ~ Todays appearances for brothers Kyle and Connor Wrenn (pictured) marked their 50th appearance in an Eastwood shirt over 2 separate spells.

Attendance ~ 211
Referee ~ Jamie Stevenson.
Assistants ~ Linton Wood and Stefan Calarasu.

Anstey Nomads ~ Conrad Logan, Ben Bayliss (Casey Richardson 77') Charlie Scanlon, Billy Blackshaw, Joel Wolfe, Zayn Hakeem (Michael Reeve 61') Lewis Gibbens, Kieran Wells, Connor Brown-Wingfield, Corey Armeni, Jordan Annable (C)
Substitutes not used ~ James Neil and Jude Kinch
Cautions ~ Gibbens (36' foul) Wells (90' sin bin)
Dismissal ~ Wells (90' 2nd yellow)

Eastwood CFC~ Warren Squires, Harrison Eastwood (Kyle Wrenn 77') Jacob Sturgess (C) Louis Anthony, Ellis Chambers, Joe Harrison, Ben Henderson (Kyle Stovell 55') Connor Wrenn, Victor Lusuku (Callum Jones 45') Kamani Wilson, Ayleal Dill.
Substitutes not used ~ Rob Osborne and Jack Messom.
Cautions ~ Dill (82' foul) Sturgess (88' foul)