Wyrley Colts played only their second 9 a-side football match against new Walsall League rivals Bloxwich Wanderers at Bloxwich Park.
The Colts had the bare minimumm 9 to start due to holidays, but in true Colts fashion, battled from the first whistle losing an early goal to Bloxwich within the first 5 minutes. Playing uphill, all 9 players fought to pin back the attacking Bloxwich side but an unlucky goal saw Colts head 2-0 down.
Colts continued to pass consistently and new signing Jamie Heston rattled the crossbar with a driving shot from 15 yards out. Undeterred, Colts defence looped a cracking ball over the midfield and a wonderful one-two saw striker Sammy Holdcroft pull a goal back to 2-1. With fortunes changing, and tiredness setting in with no subs, Colts battled away and were caught again at 3-1. With pure will to play to the death, a fantastic defence to midfield pass saw newboy number two, Cameron Purchase, run two-thirds of the pitch along the left flank, draw round 4 players and bang home to drag the scoreline to 3-2.
Wyrley Colts showed grit and determination and with 10 minutes to play another Jamie Heston shot ploughed into the woodwork, the ball cleared from the box and a final charge by old guard Connor Yates showed some old school brute strength to muscle through the Bloxwich defence and hit home to draw 3-3 – with Colts supporters all whistling the theme tune from The Great Escape! With the final whistle almost looming, Bloxwich made a late break and sealed a 4-3 victory.
Wyrley Colts played an absolute stormer and gave everything for the entire match – had they had their 4 subs at hand, the scoreline would have been considerably different.
Fulltime score: Bloxwich Wanderers 4 – 3 Wyrley Colts