Game 6

 19/10/24  - League 

AFC 2 - 1 Cotgrave Development

After three away victories on the road in recent weeks, Attenborough returned to the Strand full of optimism ahead of a clash with a Cotgrave side that had also started the season promisingly with three wins in their first four games. 

Lacking the squad depth of the previous week, Graham Mee went for the same formation and almost identical starting personnel as last time out, the exception being George Cuesta-Sarris returning to the line-up at the expense of the absent Simon Savage. 

Overnight rain had turned the pitch rather boggy in places which firmly placed the emphasis on stamina, something not ideal given the management team only had one substitute to call upon. 

Attenborough got off to a flyer after Luke Smith was felled for a penalty in the opening couple of minutes and skipper Lewis Caine tucked the spot-kick away in front of the Trent End. However, the early advantage rather lulled AFC into a false sense of security and Cotgrave responded gamely to their setback by levelling inside the first quarter. 

Having established a foothold in the match, the visitors made a real game of it in the first half and Attenborough produced a nervy display lacking in quality at the vital moments. On top of some erratic team passing in crucial areas, the perplexing George Pursglove hadn't fully zoned in on the task, either, leading to the bewildering moment towards the end of the first half when he 'performed' several kick-ups in front of a Cotgrave defender waiting patiently for the ball to take a free-kick. Probably the best forward in the league, but definitely the best forward in his own little word he lives in. 

The home side came out fired up for the second half and applied pressure throughout, both Louis and Luke Smith made inroads down the left and produced good deliveries into the box, creating some promising moments from open play. It was, however, a corner that finally provided the breakthrough approaching the 70th-minute mark. Pursglove sent in a fantastic delivery for Will Humphriss to power a downward header into the bottom corner and give Attenborough a deserved lead. 

Along with an improved attacking display, AFC also impressed at the back in the second half and managed to keep Cotgrave at arms length for the remainder of the game despite stamina-sapping conditions and one of our forwards having to leave for work with fifteen minutes to go. Fortunately, substitute Saul Riley had been keeping an eye on the referee's instincts and managed to induce a couple of soft fouls to disrupt any momentum the visitors threatened to build. 

Ultimately this was a very determined performance which saw tireless displays from all, not least from the wing-backs Luke Smith and Cuesta-Sarris who were up and down the touchlines either side throughout the game. 

This success cements Attenborough's position at the top of the league going into next week's cup game against higher-division opposition at The Strand. 

haywood; r caine, humphriss (70’), j smith; cuesta-sarris, luke smith; pearson, caine (c) (2' pen), billson; louis smith, pursglove

sub; riley