MGBSFL DIVISION TWO
TEMPLE FORTUNE 4 SCRABBLE FC B
Striker Danny Sherman continued his good run of form with two well-taken goals as Fortune registered their third league win of the season.
The late withdrawals of Grant Bates and Max Martin did not hamper the hosts on the 3G at SJP, as Fortune eyed revenge on a Scrabble team that had recently beaten them 3-1 at the Hive. And with no goalkeeper available, Fegan, whom we thought had played his last game last week, helped Fortune out as a favour.
Fortune boss Simon Linden, who could not attend this morning's rematch, knew that this was a very winnable fixture. Assistant-manager Steven Black, who ran the team on the day, inspired Fortune to play well from the start. The first half was fairly even and entertaining, with chances for both teams.
Simon Cohen came very close when his drive was superbly saved by the diving Scrabble goalkeeper whilst Scrabble hit the bar just before the break with a looping deflected shot.
Black changed the formation in the second half to great effect, with Fortune scoring twice in the 48th minute and 51st minute. On both occasions, Sherman showed his goal-scoring talents with two superbly taken efforts – for the first, he allowed the ball to bounce once, having gained possession some 20 yards out, before firing in a high shot into the far corner. His second a few minutes later was an excellent half-volley which saw the ball arrow spectaculously into the top corner, again from distance.
Daniel Vandermolen then added a third, running into the penalty area after a fine sweeping move to side-foot the ball low under the on-rushing 'keeper and into the corner.
With Fortune breaking through time and time again, it seemed only a matter of time before the lead was extended and Gab Stone, who had a great game, added the fourth with a neat finish from close range
There could have been more – Sherman missing a straight-forward header and Cohen squandering a good one-on-one chance – whilst at the other end, Lee Fegan, playing his final game (we think ;) made a couple of great saves to keep the Fortune goal intact.
The closing minutes were made all the more tense to a small degree by two players being sin-binned for back-chat but Fortune saw out the numerical disadvantage to win the match 4–0.
Full credit to Steven Black as caretaker manager on the day but more so to the players who executed plans superbly to gain three well-deserved points.
A jubilant Black reflected on Fortune's "best win of the season". He told JC Sport: "I am delighted with the win. We showed maturity, patience and tactical awareness to win the game today and I am proud of the way we battled from start to end.
"A final word must go to Lee Fegan who played his final match for Fortune today. 247 games for the club and we were thrilled to send him off with yet another clean sheet. Today’s three points are for him."
