Following postponements and a Christmas break the half time schools competition returned into full flow with a humdinger of a match. St Johns met Holywell Green in a clash to decide who would join Rawson, Salterlee and Savile Park in the semi finals.
The tempo of the game was immediately apparent, and with two teams who were desperate to reach the final four. The St Johns 11 took the ball down the right hand side, beating two players before a low shot saved down low. A well worked corner by Hollywell Green so very nearly opened the scoring but the ball was tipped over by the goalkeeper.
The St Johns 11 became a thorn in the side for Holywell Green. Chances were created but the ball was seemingly doing everything possible to avoid the goal. The Holywell Green keeper played a large part in this with a string of impressive saves.
Into the second half and the momentum changed, with Holywell Green now looking likelier to progress. St Johns hit the crossbar with an early corner but from that moment on it was the Reds who were on top. Some slick movement on the left led to the number 20 having a left foot shot saved low down. Red 7 had a few strong opportunities for the goal finding himself free but a recurring theme in this game remained, two goalkeepers having strong games and keeping their teams in the game.
With the game nearing an end neither side was able to break the deadlock and sudden death penalties were the outcome of a very entertaining game. Both teams scored their first round of penalties but unfortunately for St John’s they put their second penalty wide leaving Holywell Green needing to score to win. Which they did. Holywell Green ended up the victors in a a game where both sides deserved a victory but ultimately the fate of the penalty shoutout decided the game.
Commiserations to St John’s and a big thank you to them for entering the competition. Congratulations to Holywell Green who progress into the Semis against Salterlee. Also, thank you to Ryan Toulson for answering questions in the Q+A session
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