BATES FAMILY DAY OUT AS SHIREBROOK BREAK HOME LEAGUE DUCK

SHIREBROOK TOWN 2 RAINWORTH MW 1
EMCL @ LANGWITH ROAD
1 FEBRUARY 2020 --- 3PM

A FIRST HOME LEAGUE WIN FOR SHIREBROOK

Something just told you this was going to be Shirebrook's day when Liz Bates the wife of joint manager Steve had the winning 50/50 half time draw ticket and it was all backed up by son Ryan opening the scoring from the penalty spot and husband and dad saw his management partnership with Simon Dixon secure Town their first home league victory of the season, which saw the irony not lost on the PA operator at the end of the game who blasted out 'another one bites the dust'.

LOOKING LOVELY BUT IT WAS A BITTERLY COLD DAY

So another visit to one of my favourites as regular readers will know this time via a more convoluted route from base to Holmewood then taking the Pronto to Pleasley and finally a 23 to Shirebrook Market Place where the stalls were just winding up, there was plenty of time to visit the Coop for a few provisions before ambling up to Langwith Road in the gusting wind, two steps forward one step back.
Arriving over an hour before kick off and there was time to watch a few greyhound practice races which take place outside the ground if you are lucky enough to see them on a visit.  So having covered the ground and the club enough this season lets get straight into the business end and the difficulties Shirebrook are in second bottom of the league and with Borrowash approaching fast the side continue to suffer heavy defeats despite the sterling efforts of previous manager Jordan Johnson and his hardworking players it just wasn't happening.  Out of the blue this week a change in the hierarchy of the club allowed for the bringing in of the new management team of Bates and Dixon and with it a whole raft of players from Renishaw Rangers with the hope of stabilising the club and pulling away from the bottom two because make no mistake if Shirebrook go down it could spell a very serious doubt about their future.  As the new managers have had one training session the chance to merge the players was taken for todays game and I would guess others will be given a chance in the next few games however there will undoubtedly need to be a use of a small budget to bring in a few players to strengthen the side.

MORE THAN FAST NEW JOINT MANAGER STEVE BATES

Before the game there was a chance to meet and greet the good of Rainworth who I had not seen for ages Les, Paul and of course Gordon Foster well known from his reporting days for The Chad and the excellent organ playing 47 years and counting for Rainworth Parish Church.  As ever Ian Oxley was on hand to warmly greet me and he looked well attired in his corporate Shirebrook Town clothing.
An excellent crowd approaching 120 had gathered to see what was going to be served up after a week of speculation some of it surprising in its tone especially after the heavy losses the side had suffered this season and the worry about where the club would go in the coming months, but as ever at Shirebrook put out a side that battles and ultimately wins and the people of the town will come along a wonderful credit to the area.

EARLY DEFENDING FOR SHIREBROOK

Rainworth had recently signed goal scorer Nathan Benger who assisted their 2-0 win at Ingles last week whereas it was all change for Shirebrook to much to mention following last weekends heavy home loss to Barrow Town.

RYAN BATES GIVES SHIREBROOK THE LEAD FROM THE PENALTY SPOT

The encounter started encouragingly for Shirebrook but the best chance fell to Lewis Weaver for the visitors but Daniel Hartshorn was on hand to save well.  Thankfully Town put that behind them and were awarded a penalty when Alex Sennett took down George Simpson and Ryan Bates fired home a low spot kick that sent keeper Josh Hollis the wrong way after 17 minutes.  Confidence rose for the boys in red and Nathan Jessop broke through down the inside left and fired just wide with only Hollis to beat.  However on 22 minutes there was bordering on, alright there was delirium as Shirebrook went two up Craig Purcell saw his edge of the box shot hit a defender and Kyle Lilley was able to gather the ball and fire home past the Rainworth keeper.  Within five minutes though caution was thrown into the mix when Aiden Harris held the ball up close in for the visitors and turned to bundle the it over the line to reduce the arrears.

2-0 CELEBRATIONS

The second period started with Jessop clearly the danger man on the left for Shirebrook and with the hard work and holding up of frontman Lilley the threat was always there however the home side drifted into a defensive roll as they struggled to clear their own half for a good fifteen minutes and were grateful to a wonderful full length save by Hartshorn to keep them ahead after 68 minutes.  As the final quarter of an hour came upon us Jessop weaved is way into a good position to put in an excellent cross that just missed the head of captain William Dodds at the far post.  It was now the turn of Shirebrook to get back into the ascendancy and they looked a threat however in the closing moments Kieran Darby found himself in an excellent position but could not get his shot away quickly enough and Shirebrook blocked his effort.

HAT TRICK FOR THE BATES FAMILY AS LIZ PICKS UP HER 50/50 WINNINGS FROM
DRAW MASTER IAN OXLEY

Cue the leaving the pitch music and Shirebrook had done it a home victory in front of a appreciative crowd many of whom stopped behind to applaud the players off for their efforts. One swallow doesn't make a summer but over the last week the clubs social media presence has become more prominent, the public address system was used at the ground and overall there may well be dancing in the streets of Shirebrook tonight.

NO REFEREE PICTURE OH GO ON THEN HERE IS KARL BAINBRIDGE ADMINISTERING A CARD TO RAINWORTH SUB CAMERON DAVIDSON

One word of caution though todays success will not be as easily achievable against many of the stronger teams in the league and the management will need to look out for some late signings to strengthen the squad for the battle ahead but for now enjoy a superb victory and the smile it brought to the face of the long suffering Shirebrook supporters who left Langwith Road with an extra skip in their step, a new dawn you can but hope.