Decliners large squad gradually disintegrated in the 12 hours before KO so we arrived at Nailsea in some trepidation.  In the first half though, Nailsea were unusually careless with the ball and Decliners were on top, scoring a well worked goal from Toby. Nailsea’s best chances came when Bruce in goal juggled a couple. It was a game of two halves for him as after HT he was our MoM, producing a series of great saves. Nailsea were much better in the 2nd half and dominated in the main. They equalized through a super strike from outside the box. It looked as though Toby, one on one with the keeper would restore our lead, but his shot his the post. With Jim and then Zsolt succumbing to injury, Decliners dug in with the bare 11, but it was heartbreak with 5 minutes left when the Nailsea striker produced another smart finish to win the game. A really competitive match played in excellent spirit and very well refereed.

 

Decliners had the best of the first half with a splitting pass to score first. A disjointed Nailsea were searching for an equalizer. The last 10 of the first half Nailsea gained momentum and looked like scoring through Lee Cogan and Stew. 0-1 half time. The second half started well and both teams had attempts although nothing clinical until Matt Gigg hit a decisive strike from range into the top left corner off the post. 1-1. Both teams had a few injured players and with legs tiring more so with Decliners, Nailsea kept peppering the goal although the Decliners keeper was equal to the shots on target. Until Lee Cogan made is trademark turn and in the box hit the ball hard into the corner of the goal. With only 5mins remaining Nailsea saw out the game with a  2-1 win.