Line-up: - Marcus Mehew, Connor Crane, Elliott Young, Ethan Oldman, Jonathan Shannon, Warren Buckman, MacKenzie Travis, Mitchell Jackson, Charlie Atkin, Ewan Parlett, Ollie Griggs.
Subs:- Taylor Mellon, Billy Jordan, Herbie Ellis
Attendance: - 41

The last home game saw an excellent performance in beating the then unbeaten league leaders, Haverhill Rovers. Two subsequent defeats on the road at Whittlesey Athletic and Harwich & Parkeston added importance to today’s game against Holland FC who would leapfrog the U23s with a win.

Unfortunately the game didn’t start well for the hosts, falling behind within ten minutes of the kick off. Indecision between two players on the U23s left flank allowed the Holland winger to make ground towards the goal line before playing the ball inside to Jordan Blackwell who shot across goal into the net at the far post.

It was nearly half an hour into the game before the U23s created a possible half chance when MacKenzie Travis made a driving run down the right wing but delayed the cross which was blocked by a visiting defender. The loose ball was collected by Jonathan Shannon but his left foot shot went well wide of the goal. Almost immediately a poor kick by Toby Hurst in the Holland FC goal was seized upon by Charlie Atkin but as he advanced towards the penalty area he was pulled by Louis Olymbios. The referee awarded a free kick but inexplicably took no further action against the defender. Mitchell Jackson’s shot from the free kick looked to be heading for the back of the net but Toby Hurst made up for his earlier mistake by turning the ball around the post. That proved to be the last action of a poor half where neither side was able to dominate the game.

Half Time: U23s 0 – 1 Holland FC

The U23s started the second half playing with a much higher tempo which they maintained for the majority of the rest of the game. Following a well worked passing move on the host’s right flank the ball was laid into Mitchell Jackson’s path on the edge of the penalty area but his shot flew high over the bar. The increased tempo forced the visitors into some desperate tackles, conceding a number free kicks which again did not result in any further punishment by the referee who was taking a very lenient view. Justice would have been served had another Mitchell Jackson free kick not been turned just wide of the post. Both mangers turned to their substitute benches, the first for Holland FC saw Sonny Carr replaced by Jayden Hanna and fifteen minutes later Kade Ivatt was replaced by Ben Sargeant. Between these Billy Jordan made a welcome return to action, replacing MacKenzie Travis. The change meant an adjustment to the line up with Billy Jordan moving alongside Ethan Oldman in the centre of defence, with Connor Crane moving to right back and Jonathan Shannon moving further up on the right. Another half chance presented itself when Ewan Parlett found himself with a run towards goal but again Toby Hurst did well, closing down quickly to make a block. After conceding a further number of free kicks Louis Olymbios was finally shown a yellow card, which equally could have been for dissent but that dubious honour went to the goalscorer who was sent to the sin bin. In a final bid to get back on level terms Taylor Mellon replaced Jonanthan Shannon with 90 minutes approaching. As it transpired he got a bit of a longer run out as the referee added on 6 minutes which was necessary given the time the physio was called for to attend injured home players.

Full Time: U23s 0 -1 Holland FC