Oadby Reaction
It was a late late show as The Mikes secured a welcome home win in wintry conditions at the Trevor Brown Memorial Ground.
In what seems a rarity in today’s game, the match was completed despite a covering of snow on the pitch, with the lines swept and yellow match balls in use.
The Mikes were well on top in the first half, but took it took until the stroke of half time to establish the lead, with Jason Holmes sweeping the ball home in the 43rd minute. This came at the height of the heaviest blizzard of the night, so half time came with much uncertainty about whether the match would resume.
The lines were swept again and the snow fortunately abated, but the Mikes may have been questioning the wisdom of their desire to get the game on as they found themselves behind. The Mikes missed a hatful of chances and Oadby took their two clear opportunities.
It looked like being the familiar story of recent weeks, but a change to the formation and three tactical substitutions did the trick. Coach Stuart Grosvenor came off the bench on 84 minutes for a rare appearance, and he used all of his experience to arrive with a perfectly timed run to sweep the ball home with his first touch of the ball, after fellow sub Simeon Tulloch had his shot blocked.
The Mikes continued to press for a deserved winner, and it duly arrived on 88 minutes when Ricky Baker guided a left wing cross into the bottom corner.
Manager Rob Mallaband reflected “We shot ourselves in the foot when we should have been comfortably ahead, but fair play for the way the lads bounced back for a deserved win. It was a very good performance overall.”
The Mikes face Oadby’s local rivals on Saturday, welcoming Friar Lane and Epworth to the Trevor Brown Memorial Ground for an Aspire MFA fixture (Saturday 27th February – 3:00pm).
