Kidsgrove Ath 2 Sutton Coldfield 1 - Walker double on return to league action
Kidsgrove earned an excellent victory in their first league match for over a month, maintaining their unbeaten home record with a 2-1 win over Sutton Coldfield Town.
Both sides were looking to recover from exiting the FA Trophy the previous Saturday, but Kidsgrove were again forced to make changes with Andy Taylor returning to defence along with Karl Charlton in an unfamiliar position as he looks to regain match fitness.
Athletic started brightly with Dave Walker winning the ball on five minutes and feeding it to Steve Brannan whose cross was headed wide by Andy Kinsey. A minute later, Sam Hall hit a powerful shot from 20 yards which Nial Cooper could only parry out as far as Taylor, but failed to keep his attempt down and it went over the bar.
Hall was again involved on 13 minutes, picking up an injury in a firm but fair challenge on the edge of the visitors' area. The ball fell to Brannan and the midfielder produced a pinpoint cross that WALKER headed expertly across Cooper into the net.
Sutton Coldfield had offered little in return; a shot from Dean Rathbone midway through the half was too high to trouble Hodgson.
On 25 minutes, Athletic produced a superb piece of football that resulted in them extending their lead. Brannan picked the ball up on the halfway line and evaded a couple of challenges before playing the ball into Kinsey, His first-time lay off found WALKER in a perfect position and he confidently struck the ball into the goal giving Cooper no chance.
With half an hour played, Hall, having been unable to shake off the injury he had picked up in the lead up to the opening goal, was forced out of the action, and replaced by Danny Griggs.
The visitors ended the half the stronger and had a couple of good chances to find a way back into the game. On 37 minutes, James Reid saw off the challenge of Charlton, but sent his shot wide of the target, and a minute later Luke Chapman sent a wild shot well wide of the Kidsgrove goal.
Sutton Coldfield really should have pulled a goal back on the stroke of half time, as Reid did well to control a long ball out of defence. With Hodgson rushing out of goal, he did well to beat the home keeper with a shot from a narrow angle, only to see it cannon back into play off the foot of the far post. The ball fell into the path of the onrushing Rathbone who could somehow only manage to turn the ball wide of the unguarded net.
The first significant action of the second half took place after 50 minutes as Walker was hauled down off the ball by visiting captain Zac Castello, who earned a yellow card. The resulting free kick was played into the wall and bounced away to safety.
Hodgson was to play a key role in the remainder of the game and he made his first decisive save with 52 minutes on the clock when the ball fell to Craig Marshall who seemed destined to score only to be denied by Hodgson's legs.
After a lively start to the half, play then settled into a mundane midfield battle until 68 minutes when Geoff Basford came on to replace Griggs. His first action was to attempt a pass towards the Kidsgrove defence, which turned into a perfect through ball for Sutton's Ben Lund, but fortunately for the Grove substitute, Hodgson was once more on hand to make a good save.
Danny Smith then launched into an attacking run, bypassing several challenges on his way into The Royals' penalty area, and managing an attempt on goal that rolled just wide of the far post. Shortly afterwards, a free kick from Ashley Carter was flicked on by Kinsey, but the ball dropped just too far from both Brannan and Walker who were lurking in the danger area.
Hodgson was once more the hero on 82 minutes, doing well to gather a Rathbone header, and followed this up three minutes later with a stunning double save as it looked like the visitors were destined not to score.
With the game entering added-on time, Kidsgrove's resistance was finally broken. A goalmouth scramble followed a Sutton Coldfield free kick and CHAPMAN was on hand to fire home to ensure Athletic had a nervy three minutes. Fortunately, for the home side, there were no further scares and the three points were perfect preparation for Saturday's FA Cup match at home to Bradford (Park Avenue).
Team: Hodgson, D Smith, Taylor, Charlton, Johnson, Davidson, Brannan, Hall (Griggs 30 (Basford 68)), Walker, Kinsey, Carter. Unused subs: Twigg, Bull, Ward
Share Last updated: 26th October 2011, 23:44