Sportsmans First Friendly Ends In Victory

<p>The Sportsmans FC got off to a good preseason with a solid performance and result against Black Swan from Bedale. Sporties began the game with a few players missing but with a strong enough squad to come away with the win. Black swan had a lot of possession throughout the game but lacked that cutting edge to create opportunities. After about half an hour a chipped through ball by Scott McNichol found Mikey Stevens in a lot of room just inside the opposition box his first touch took him round the on rushing keeper and rolled the ball into the net. With rolling substitues agreed sportsmans made a couple of changes throughout the next half an hour which didnt seem to disrupt things on the pitch. Sportsmans eventually found a second goal with about 20minutes remaining when the ball was pinched on the halfway line, McNichol played a through ball into Edd Craven who broke through and managed to strike the ball through the goalkeeper from an angle. The sportsmans then could have flattered themselves by adding a third but when Craven and Stevens combined and found McNichol in acres of room, he was unable to beat the keeper when placed in the centre of the box. FT 2-0.<br /><br />New Goalkeeper James Hall got off to a good start and showed some great handling on numerous occasions and fully deserved a clean sheet on debut. Stuey Dunn and Sam Grainger looked solid as they have from years gone by, with both Nathan Pratt, Luke Toman and Joe Clarkson providing great support in the full back positions. New Signings Gary Shardha and James Horsfield controlled the midfield with minimal amount of touches and moving the ball quickly to create opportunities going forward before giving the opposition chance to regroup. Mikey Stevens worked tirelessly and was an option throughout the 90mins. Richard Calvert helped dominate the midfield when introduced at HT. Edd Craven didnt look out of place playing up top on his own for the first time in 10 years. All in all looking promising for the Sportsmans as they look to regain the league title.