Birmingham WFC 60's 6 v 1 Market Drayton 60's
An experienced Birmingham group put in an excellent performance throughout and enjoyed a comfortable, though never easy, victory over a Market Drayton side which had only been formed a few months ago. It was that competitive experience which clearly told as the game went on.
Both teams had a fair share of the ball in the opening 10 minutes but our attacking threat was far greater and the Shropshire team had their goalkeeper to thank on several occasions as well as some narrow misses from a Birmingham 6 who were almost shooting on sight. The Market Drayton defence struggled to contain the attacking threat of striker Milan Mazic and midfielders Mark Evans and Clive Macey whilst Martin Barber and Roger Purchase were rock solid in defence and the holding midfield role respectively.
Despite the chances it remained 0-0 until 13 minutes had passed when MARK EVANS fired in from a freekick touched back to him. Further saves from the keeper prevented any change in the scoreline until almost half time when goals in quick succession from MILAN MAZIC and CLIVE MACEY meant the home team led 3-0 at the break.
Birmingham were quickly out of the blocks at the beginning of the 2nd half and it wasn't long before MILAN MAZIC got his 2nd which a delightful dummy and dink over a helpless Market Drayton goalie. Substitute Steve Dixon saw a couple of efforts either go narrowly wide or be saved by the keeper before MILAN MAZIC slotted home for his hat trick following some excellent teamplay from the Blues. The final Birmingham goal came with about 10 minutes left to play with CLIVE MACEY getting his 2nd of the game. Market Drayton seemed to have grown into the game, particularly during the 2nd period and got their reward with a thunderbolt of a shot flying past a previously untroubled Les Dawson into the corner of the net. Many thanks have to go to a very experienced referee who explained his expectations clearly before kick off and was happy to advise players of his reasons for taking action during the game. The game was kept reasonably easy for him as both teams played honest and competitive football in the proper spirit of the game throughout. This was possibly one of the best competitive walking football games I have watched due to the respect shown by both teams to the referee and each other. MP Team; Les Dawson, Martin Barber, Roger Purchase, Mark Evans, Clive Macey, Milan Mazic, Steve Dixon, Steve White (player/manager), Mike Price (assistant manager) We should know our 3rd round opponent sometime this week.
