Boldmere St. Michaels Res 9 - 0 Gresley
On a pitch that had deteriorated significantly as it thawed rapidly after the morning inspection, the Mikes reserves ran riot in the mud against an overwhelmed Gresley side, to record their third nine-goal tally of the season.
With the impressive Scott Barker pulling the strings in midfield and Tom Clews making intelligent runs into the channels, the Mikes looked like scoring every time they ventured forwards.
The opening goal was a gem, with Tow Clews making a great run down the right to deliver the perfect cross to the far post, where Keiran Robinson - not normally reknowned for his prowess in the air - rose majestically to plant a text book header into the top corner from 10 yards.
If one header was somewhat of a surprise , a similar cross from the right by Scott Barker found Robinson flying in for a 6 yard diving header into the roof of the net to make it 2-0.
The Gresley keeper was keeping them in the game with a succession of fine saves, while the visitors were testing the Mikes defence with some probing diagonal balls to keep Sean Butler on his toes as he swept up behind the defence.
A flurry of goals saw the Mikes lead 5-0 at the interval.
A well worked corner saw skipper Neil Hanlon turn the ball home from close range, before Clews earned a penalty by chasing down a lost cause. Robinson coolly converted to register his hat-trick.
In the closing seconds of the half, the marauding Jack Brown continued his run to the near post, where another Clews cross found him perfectly to guide a near post volley into the roof of the net.
The second half started in scrappy fashion, with the game over as a contest. The impressive visiting keeper continued to keep the Mikes at bay, but was helpless as Andre Calder smashed a header against the bar from a corner. Minutes later, the keeper then stood up well to block Calder's close range effort.
Calder was not to be denied his goal however, as a shot was parried into his path and he walked the ball into the net from close range.
Tom Clews had led the Mikes forward line brilliantly in what manager John Wison described as his best performance for the club. He got the goal he deserved, holding off a defender before guiding a neat finish home past the advancing keeper.
Clews was just shaded in the man of the match stakes by Scott Barker, who ran the game from start to finish in the Mikes engine room. He also got the goal his perfrmance warranted, striking home a lovely left footed shot into the bottom corner from 20 yards.
Second half substitute Jamel Fuller increased the tally soon afterwards. Running in strongly from the right flank, Fuller punished the back pedalling defence by firing home a left footed curler int the top corner from fully 25 yards.
With 15 minutes to go, the Mikes pressed forward in search of double figures. This would have been harsh on the visiting keeper, who was far and away Gresley's star performer.
It was not to be, but the Mikes management were well satisfied with a comprehensive victory and a clean sheet. The quality of the goals was superb, and it despite their recent lack of match action, the Mikes deserved the utmost credit for making light of a very difficult pitch to play some very entertaining football.
| Shirt No. | Name | Goals | |
| 1 | Butler, Sean | ||
| 2 | Brown, Jack | 1 | |
| 3 | Rutter, Johnathan | ||
| 4 | Hanlon, Neil | "C" | 1 |
| 5 | Maydhew, Shane | ||
| 6 | Calder, Andre | 1 | |
| 7 | Barker, Scott | 1 | |
| 8 | Buxton, Kevin | ||
| 9 | Clews, Thomas | 1 | |
| 10 | Lewis, Andrew | ||
| 11 | Robinson, Kieran | 3 | |
| 12 | Fuller, Jamel | 1 | |
| 14 | |||
| 15 | Gould, Peter | ||
| 16 | Cobb, Daniel | ||
| 17 | Fisher, Jamie | ||
| GK |
