MGBSFL DIVISION ONE
SCRABBLE FC 4 ATHLETIC BILBAUM 0
Hit by injuries a suspension and players unavailable, the 11 players who turned out for Scrabble today "did the club proud," according to Abrahams.
Scrabble included two players carrying injuries and with no recognised goalkeeper, the job between the sticks being taken by utility player Adam Waters who kept a clean sheet on the day.
The home side started the game on the front foot and might have scored three or four in the opening 20 minutes but for some fine saves by the Bilbaum keeper and courtesy of the woodwork.
However on 20 minutes a throw reached the head of Scrabble striker Sherman whose neat header was flicked on to Zac Summerfield who shot powerfully onto the net from 15 yards out. Up to this point the Bilbaum defence struggled against the sheer pace of Summerfield.
Bilbaum, however, were not surrendering and went close twice soon after as Scrabble's stand-in keeper for the day Waters made a couple of fine saves to deny the opposition n equaliser and the woodwork also intervened at the other end to deny Scrabble further goals on more than one occasion.
The second half belonged to Scrabble who stepped up the pace of the game after the break, and on 65 minutes a teasing cross was met on the volley a few yards out by Rob Blackman to make it 2-0.
The goal of the game came on 80 minutes as Sherman, already a real handful for the Bilbaum defence, powered his way through three or four defenders before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the Bilbaum net to effectively seal the points.
Sherman completed the scoring four minutes from time with powerful header inside the penalty box as Scrabble ended their two-game losing run in some style, evoking memories of some of their awesome displays last season when they we're sweeping everyone aside.
Scrabble manager Ray Abrahams told JC Sport: 'We were terrific today and but for some fine saves by the Bilbaum keeper and the woodwork we might have got double figures.
"We were missing five important players today and played without a recognised goalkeeper, and still kept our first clean sheet of the season.
"As I've said in the past, we've had some tough early season games and now we have the chance to clinch a promotion place if we are consistent. This win takes us to within a point or two of second spot and the spirit in the group is very high at the moment.
"We don't have any Cup distractions now and will focus on taking as many points as we can from our last nine games and see where it takes us.
"As we've discovered this season no game in this division is easy though but winning breeds confidence and after a couple of disappointing defeats we looked a bit lethargic early on today but eventually got into our stride and finished the game strong."
SCRABBLE: Adam Waters, Josh Bentley, Daniel Stock, Josh Bharier, Robert Blackman, Elliott Espinoza, Josh Flax, Josh Pugh, Brandon Sassoon, Danny Sherman, Zac Summerfield
