07/09/2026
A close battle at Grove Road but some costly mistakes seal the win for Sling Football Club.
Whitecroft's opening game had the ingredients for a great match up and it proved to be such, however The Greeks weren't able to convert their chances into goals.
The game kicked off in good conditions, the pitch recovering well from the recent rain, and it was Sling that rained on the home parade with Dan Jones going in behind the defence after a long ball to finish in the corner.
Whitecroft recovered and had much of the possession for short periods but were unable to keep it for long enough in the middle of the park to form a solid counter. Fletcher King going close after good work from right back and Man of the Match, James Hardinge. The latter had chances of his own but was unable to convert, which would have capped a fantastic and energetic performance. Hardinge's header from an Andrew Wood far post corner was agonisingly wide.
Moses Thompson continued to fight as always, collecting the ball from deep and finding team mates. Midfielders Dylan Richards and Jacob Wynn should be commended for their work rate over the course of the game as they locked out Sling from further chances.
It wasn't long before Sling broke down Whitecroft's left once again to score a second goal before half time.
Grant Kear and Ben Smith were introduced at half time with both battling hard to claw a goal back. A goal mouth scramble resulted in the 'keeper saving the ball from Smith after a good build up.
15 minutes towards the end players were being replaced left, right and centre as injuries and tiredness took their toll. Breese replaced McCarthy at centre back before switching to right back to replace the injured Hardinge and McCarthy being reintroduced.
After some hard work, Grant Kear pushed further up field and managed to coolly finish a shot from a through ball that the Sling linesman had attempted to rule out offside for the umpteenth time. Referee Geoff Prosser sensing the long term pattern of favouritism after 85 mins and finally awarding the goal to the Greeks. Sadly it wasn't enough and the game ended 2-1 to Sling.
Manager's Comments:
"It was pleasing to see us create more chances again but our conversion rate needs to improve if we are to win games like these. We need to work more as a team as an assist is just as valuable as a goal.
Credit to Sling, they did the basics well enough to score 2 goals and left us chasing for most of the game. I was really pleased with Fletch and James today and their work rate on the pitch. Jacob and Dylan have improved massively and showed it in this game. Charlie in goal as well, pulled off another magnificent save to keep us in the game when we managed to keep the pressure away from him most of the time.
I would go as far to say we probably still have one of the youngest squads in the league and it takes time to make that count for something. We don't have many regular players over the age of 19 or 20 anymore but we still need the older players with the composure to make things happen and that worked with Grant coming off the bench to provide a platform for us to work in midfield, resulting in a goal.
Overall I'm pleased with our performance and we move on to the next game with the confidence we can compete over 90 minutes."
Whitecroft take on Ruardean United FC away on Saturday, 2.30pm KO.
Special thanks to Steve Young for the photos!
