Knutsford Men’s 1s – 3 West Derby Men’s 1s – 3

Knutsford faced a hard fought trip away on Saturday against West Derby, always a physical game, and this was no different.

Knutsford had a strong 12 to play with, and were aiming to finish the first half of the season with a win. They started strongly in the game and in the first ten minutes were definitely in the ascendancy. Their dominance was rewarded when soon into the game they took the lead. Joe Wright found space in the D and unleashed a reverse stick shot into the roof of the West Derby goal, a finish of real quality.

Soon however Knutsford found themselves drawing, when following some lacklustre marking, West Derby had a player free in the D and he made no mistake from close range, giving Wright in the Knutsford goal no chance. This goal buoyed the black knights, and following strong defensive work at the back the ball was released to the Knutsford forwards, who broke at speed, smart interplay between Berkeley, Sherwani and Price moved them up to the D and it was left for Sherwani to round the keeper and score into an empty goal.

Knutsford’s lead again didn’t last long, when in an almost carbon copy of the West Derby’s first goal, some lacklustre marking allowed an easy finish for the West Derby forward. 2-2 at half time and Knutsford were asked to keep their discipline and the ball to win the game.

In the second half the game opened up with both team looking to win, and tensions ran high, there was a melee involving players from both teams, which resulted in a yellow card being shown to a player from each side, and them taking a 10-minute rest on the side-line. Both teams down to ten men, but Knutsford pushed on, and finally their persistence paid off. Wolfenden the man again from a penalty corner, giving the keeper no chance and Knutsford the lead 3-2. Knutsford held the lead for a while but again were found level when West Derby scored an unlikely equalizer with less than ten minutes to spare.

This was to be the last action of note in the game, other than some further moans from the home team, but a draw was the result and Knutsford were disappointed with their performance, but can be pleased with their work in the first half of the season. They sit third in the league and currently have the best defensive record in the division.