NUNEATON 0 DERWENT 2

Nuneaton received the wrong sort of Christmas present when they were handed a 2-0 defeat at Etone by a Derwent side only just above them in the Coaching Solutions East Midlands Premier Division.

The defeat leaves Nuneaton firmly rooted at the bottom of the table going in to the Christmas break and four points adrift of safety.

The match started well for the home side and their play was positive with Nuns looking the better side. However, Derwent sneaked an opening goal against the run of play and this seemed to drain some of the belief out of Nuneaton.

Nuneaton continued to compete but they were having trouble creating any real chances against a Derwent side that should have been run more closely.

However, it was Derwent who scored the next goal and with it Nuneaton lost both composure and their shape to ensure they would not get back into the game once the flowing passing game had gone.

Nuneaton now need to use the friendlies over the holiday period to regain confidence and organisation if they are to drag themselves out of relegation in the New Year.

GEC RUGBY II 4 NUNEATON II 1

This was a disappointing score line for Nuneaton who were outplayed by GEC, a side that sits in the drop zone of the Coaching Solutions East Midlands Division One.

Nuneaton never got into the game, but did take the lead against the run of play after a well worked short corner finished well by Tom HIGGINSON in the first ten minutes.

This just seamed to spur the home side on and within five minutes they were level and capitalised on some poor defending to take the lead just before the break.

The visitors started the second half a little better, but could not discover the flowing hockey of previous games and the home side soon scored their third goal which put paid to any chance Nuneaton had of getting back into the game.

The fourth goal came shortly afterwards, and this is a performance Nuneaton will hopefully put behind them now that the Christmas break is here, and come back in the New Year raring to go

for the second half of the league campaign.

NUNEATON III 1 COALVILLE III 3

The third team suffered a setback in the final Coaching Solutions Division One game before the Christmas break, despite dominating long periods of the match.

Early Nuneaton pressure brought the desired breakthrough when Ian MOLYNEUX crashed the ball home after good work from Lapsley.

Despite more possession, the home side were unable to score an all important second goal, and Coalville finally began to make inroads as the team’s frustration increased. After two fine short corner saves from keeper Norrington, Coalville succeeded in firing home from an acute angle to level the scores.

A succession of penalty corners provided the perfect opportunity for Nuneaton to regain the lead, but a lack of variation proved costly as, ironically, the visitors scored further goals from their only two corners of the second half.

BURTON IV 1 NUNEATON IV 1

In the final Coaching Solutions East Midlands Premier game of 2005, Nuneaton travelled to Burton for an unsociably late start against their mid-table rivals.

For the second successive year, Nuneaton started the fixture with only ten men, but showed themselves more than capable of pressurising the home side despite the imbalance in numbers.

Pat Moore and Dave Ellingworth were prominent as Nuneaton pushed forward creating some discomfort in the home defence, but it was Burton who struck first when a breakaway enabled a clear shot at goal to evade keeper Mike Loveless.

Ten minutes before half time, the visitors’ final team member arrived and Nuneaton were now ready to push forward more confidently for an equaliser.

Key to the Nuneaton renaissance was the clean and powerful hitting of Peter and Paul Sidwell, and it was the latter’s deep cross that provided Pat MOORE to drill the ball between the keeper’s legs for a deserved equaliser.

Both teams pushed hard for a winner, and Moore was unfortunate to see his effort skim the far post, but a draw was a fair result at the end.

NUNEATON V 2 ASHBY IV 1

Nuneaton managed to end the first half of the Coaching Solutions South East Division Two league programme with their fourth win of the season.

A sporting match, played in an excellent spirit, saw them just edge out the team one place above them in the table.

Nuneaton were very disorganised at the start of the match and Ashby took advantage of this and deservedly got an early goal. At this point it looked as if Nuneaton might be overwhelmed but they held on and although Ashby did hit the post they never really looked like increasing their lead.

The hosts then got their act together and with the arrival of Phil Wheatley looked far more dangerous in attack. They drew level following a short corner when a switch move with Ryan Stokes was finished off by Matthew TROTMAN.

Five minutes later they were ahead when a shrewd pass into the circle by Harry Mayou was struck home by Jon TATUM. Nuneaton just about deserved their half time lead.

Both sides played good hockey in the second half but it was Ashby who exerted the greater pressure. They created a succession of scoring opportunities without ever looking as if they could finish them off whilst Nuneaton, from far fewer chances, always looked more likely to score.

Wheatley was unlucky to have a ‘goal’ disallowed as he was adjudged to have infringed before scoring and he also hit the post with another attempt. The game finished with Nuneaton hanging on and Ashby justifiably disappointed about losing.

COALVILLE IV 2 NUNEATON VI 1

Nuneaton came up against a young and fit Coalville team who started this coaching Solutions South east Division Two game at a ferocious pace.

The visitors were under the cosh for the first twenty minutes, during which time Richard Morris had to work very hard to keep the home centre forward in check.

Not surprisingly Coalville took the lead after a through ball was only partly stopped by the Nuneaton defence and the home forward gobbled up the resultant chance.

This sparked Nuneaton into life and a fine attack led to Nigel Lawton crossing the ball to top scorer Josh WAGG, who beat his marker to the ball and swept it home.

The second half was more even than the first, but both sides were unable to create many clear-cut chances.

When it looked as though a draw would be the final outcome, Coalville won a penalty corner. From this they moved the ball sideways to create a clear sight of goal and fired home despite the best efforts of the visitors defence.

In the final minutes frustration got the better of Simon Pennington and after a couple of poor tackles he earned himself a temporary suspension.

Halfway through the league programme, this young development side finds itself halfway up the league and this must be viewed as an outstanding success.