Evo-Stick Southern 1 Central
Tuesday 10th January 2017
After Saturday’s vital win over Petersfield Town we welcomed promotion hopefuls AFC Dunstable to The Glassworld Stadium on Tuesday night and the team picked up where they left off, coming from behind to secure another vital three points and record back to back wins for the first time this season.
The visitors started brightly and came close to taking the lead with 12 minutes played but Bernie Christie’s left footed strike came back out off the post. Sam Roach was called upon soon after to block a goal-bound glancing header and keep the scores level.
We started to settle though and looked a threat going forward. Marcus Hall’s through ball allowed Matty Allan to spring the offside trap but Ricky Perks was equal to the task, out quickly to narrow the angles and block Allan’s effort. Perks was out quickly again a few minutes later when Hall again found a pass, this time sending Carman away but Perks got there first to clear.
At the other end, Roach continued to impress with his general handling and positioning but took a clattering when diving bravely at the feet of an onrushing Dunstable forward. After a couple of worrying minutes of treatment he was on his feet again though and able to continue.
This was a good game now with both teams threatening to break the deadlock and that breakthrough nearly came five minutes before the break. Tommy Wright sent a free kick in from the right that caused general mayhem in the box but shots were blocked in a crowded penalty area.
Again we went close just before half time when James Carman fired a shot on the turn that was headed for the top corner before Perks diving to his left at full stretch got a hand to it and diverted it wide.
The second half was a bit quieter for the first ten minutes or so but livened up dramatically just before the hour. The visitors took the lead from nowhere when a long ball found its’ way to Christie who had space to advance and finish past Roach and give Dunstable the lead.
That felt harsh on us but any worries that heads might drop were pretty much immediately dismissed as this team has a new steel and determination to it. Matty Allan sent over an inviting cross from the right-hand side but Yeomans’ strike was blocked by Perks. Elkanah Sibanda was following up though and headed the loose ball into the far corner to make it 1-1 (pictured above). We had been behind for less than two minutes and it was very much game on now.
Dunstable still looked dangerous when they got at us and Jermaine Hall’s glancing header nearly restored the visitors’ lead but we looked confident and determined and took the game to them with the excellent Jake Chambers-Shaw causing problems all over the pitch as we went looking for the lead. That left spaces though and Dunstable nearly took advantage when Christie went clear again only for Cameron Watson to make a superb last ditch tackle to save the day.
With quarter of an hour left we scored what proved to be the winner. Simon Unwin sent a deep cross to the back post that was met by Shaun Jenkins whose header back across the keeper found the back of the net to make it 2-1
After that the last few minutes were always going to be nervy but as Dunstable threw more and more forward they left space for us to counter into. Chambers-Shaw’s tenacity led to his intercepting the ball on half way and he sent Allan away. Again, Perks narrowed the angles well and with Allan forced wider than he would have liked the striker dragged his shot past the far post.
Hall then had a chance to calm our nerves when Allan this time broke clear of his markers to find a bit of space, this time on the left. His pass inside sat up invitingly for Hall to strike first time but the midfielder’s shot was high.
There was plenty of nervous looking at watches going on amongst the crowd as the final few minutes seemed to last for ever but finally the whistle blew and the three points were ours. After waiting for so long for any kind of result at The Glassworld we now have consecutive wins in 4 days and maybe, just maybe, the Great Escape is on?
Cameron Watson, James Carman and match-winner Shaun Jenkins seemed pleased after the final whistle!
Histon: Sam Roach, Tommy Wright, Cameron Watson, Ross Munro (Shaun Jenkins 74), Max York, Dan Gleeson (Simon Unwin 67), Marcus Hall, Jake Chambers-Shaw, James Carman (Ben Yeomans 58), Matty Allan, Elkanah Sibanda.
Histon subs not used: Aysa Ourtilbour, Daniel McGinty.
Histon yellow cards: Ben Yeomans.
Histon goal scorers: Elkanah Sibanda (59), Shaun Jenkins (74).
AFC Dunstable: Ricky Perks, Courtney Massey, Newman Carney, Terry Griffiths, Bill Morgan, Roy Byron (Leon Cashman 60), Adiel Mannion (Nathan Frater 60), Brandon Carney (James Bishop 73), Bernie Christie, Josh Humbert, Jermaine Hall.
AFC Dunstable subs not used: Matt Langston.
AFC Dunstable yellow cards: Roy Byron.
AFC Dunstable goal scorer: Bernie Christie (57).
Attendance: 148
