Back in the groove........
It was a return to winning ways for the Classics but it took some time for them to get the engines fired up. Buoyed by the impressive turn out, by recent standards, of six subs, the match kicked off eight minutes late. Play was lethargic and it took five minutes for the Classics to earn their first corner which came to nought. The Gladiators threw down the gauntlet early on and took a two goal lead as early as the tenth minute. Both came as a result of poor defensive play; both were good, well deserved goals; both were low shots to the bottom left corner of the goals. It was not the start the Classics had written in their script. A few changes were made and confidence was restored after Jeff Dickson beat the offside trap and placed a shot low to the right of the keeper to make the deficit a single goal. The move of the match came in the 34th minute after Pat O'Krane threaded a beautiful defence splitting pass through for Gordie Macklin. Macklin wasted no time and sent over a first-time inch-perfect cross to Jimmy Butler who powered home the equaliser. Four minutes before half time the home side took the lead again. It came after Randy Hosler unnecessarily lost possession just outside the box and the grateful Gladiator forward stopped to thank him before unleashing another low shot past the bemused Jason Clegg and into the bottom left corner.

Butler was on hand again just before the end of the half to bring the scores back level and it came from a massive assist-kick from Clegg. Butler was one-on-one with the centre half and the ball was headed over the defender which released Butler with another one-on-one with the keeper - no contest this time! The game finished 3-3 at the half - it was just what the fans wanted! The second half brought an early corner with which Jeff Dickson found O'Krane's head but his effort went painfully over the bar. The 53rd minute saw Sherman Foster in the action after he headed on a free kick from the right but the ball landed at the keeper's feet who took the ball cleanly to dispel any danger. Foster was at it again in the 63rd minute when he watched as the keeper pushed his shot onto the post and away for a corner. Macklin made a break through in the 70th and was uncerimoniously hacked down in the box which earned the Classics a penalty. Hosler stepped up to take the kick; he played a few mind-games with the keeper before despatching the kick to the right of the keeper to make the score 4-3 to the Classics.

The result was satisfying after such a dismal start and the Classics showed plenty of heart to come back twice from the jaws of defeat to snatch a deserved win. It was also encouraging to see a good turn out of players again after a few uncertain weeks where the numbers have been hard to get due to player loss and injuries to some of the stalwart players from last season. Next up is a home game to Richmond United so it will be all hands to the pumps again on the return to the James Hill ground.

Stats
MWG: Randy Hosler
Pen Scored: Randy Hosler
Crap Award: Not awarded