PINXTON TAME LIONS IN PRE SEASON FRIENDLY

PINXTON 3 V HEANOR TOWN 2
PRE SEASON FRIENDLY @ THE WELFARE GROUND
20 JULY 2015 7.45PM

COVERED STAND AT THE WELFARE GROUND PINXTON

Pinxton shocked Heanor with this pre season defeat against step 5 opposition with a deserved victory that at one stage had seen the Central Midlands League side lead by 3-0.

NECK TRAP

Nice to return to midweek travels local to base and although its not a first visit to Pinxton it is the first time with the blog.  The ground is approached by a wide pathway at the side of the welfare and following the purchase of two chocolate donuts from the nearby Coop it probably needed to be.  Entrance to the ground is by a, new to me, shed pay box which was nice and smart.  The ground has a tight and snug walkway all around it and to the right is the café area which is on a high backed terraced area offereing a good view over the ground from its small area.  Opposite our entrance are the two dugouts and situated towards the far corner a covered seated stand.  Behind the other goals is the clubs changing rooms which are approached by climbing down a flight of stairs.  Before the game it was good to catch up with some of the Heanor officials including Tony Squires the clubs PR man and thankfully Stan Wilton who supplied the teams, wonderful job!  It was also good to have a quick catch up with Heanor Town front man Nathan Benger who tonight was a second half sub.

JACK HAWKINS WANDERS OVER TO TAKE A HEANOR CORNER

Heanor started with new signings Jamie Clarke from Holbeach Utd and the diminutive Jack Hawkins in their starting line up and with a crowd of around 150 in attendance we were in for a much anticpated game.
The game started at a pace and Heanor were struggling to break down the Pinxton defence and you could sense the home side confidence grow non more so than when Shelton chipped the Heanor keeper from 30 yards out for a wonderful goal.  Shortly after on 27 minutes it was 2-0 with number 7 Luke Walker congratulated although caution is added here the Pinxton twitter feed has the scorer as Smith.
Pinxton went in at half time well in control of this game with Heanor struggling to make any headway.  Half time and a good chance to catch up with a non league supporter from Ilkeston who I had previously met while I was at Clay Cross Town FC.  An interesting conversation ensued and it whiled away the half time interval with many tales of football travels.

INCREASINGLY WORRYING MOMENTS ON THE HEANOR BENCH

REFERE JOHN STEVENS SECOND HALF INJURY

Surely Heanor would come out more determined to pull this deficit back, but no its wasn't to be when jusy 7 minutes into the second half Walker fired in from close range after his original shot had been pushed away by Nathan Stone in the Heanor goal.  Heanor finally got into the game when Ollie Naylor scored with a neat finish before Jamie Clarke headed home a few minutes later to make it 3-2.  It was clearly game on now and much of the crowd probably expected Heanor to power their way past Pinxton.  But it was not to be as Pinxton continued to look good and they deservedly played out the second half to secure a creditable moral boosting victory.
The second half saw referee John Stevens hobble off injured with Mansfield official Sean Richardson taking over in the middle.
The second half also saw the blog meet up with its friends from Swanwick Pentrich Rd who are eagerly awaiting the start of the new season.
A cracking game for a pre season friendly with Pinxton travelling to Clay Cross Town next Saturday for their next game and on this showing they will be a force to reckoned with next season in the CMFL.