East Hull 1-2 Rossington Main

East Hull 1-2 Rossington Main

Northern Counties East League (Division One)

Saturday 17th October 2020

This wasn't a vintage victory for Rossington Main by any stretch of the imagination although they were comfortably the better team against East Hull.

In a clash played at Goole's Victoria Pleasure Ground, there was no pleasure for the 'home' side who, after what appears to have been an horrendous week off the pitch, produced a very underwhelming display and deserved nothing from the game. Rozzo, though not quite as 'hot' as what they've been in recent outings, had more possession and got the ball into more troublesome areas - thus, it was they who created the better openings over the course of the 90 minutes!

After a slow start which saw chances missed at either end, Micah Parsons' sublime top corner finish from the edge of the area put Main ahead on 21 minutes, though East Hull could have bagged a near-instant equaliser when a forward was allowed to turn and flash an effort across the face of Callum Fielding's goal.

The game was largely scrappy and untidy at this point but, as has been a familiar tale in recent games, Rossington gradually improved as the half wore on; Parsons wreaking havoc time and again with his neat footwork, whilst Jack Watson also saw a sweetly-struck effort kept out just before the interval on the back of some decent individual play.

After the interval, Ben Hunter's side - knowing that just a one-goal cushion is often precarious, really began to solidify their footballing superiority by applying some sustained pressure. A couple of corners came to nothing - including one where Elliott Walker got a shot away, but a second goal eventually arrived just past the hour mark when Tyla Bell stooped low at the near-post to guide the ball home from a right-wing cross. 

To be perfectly honest, that should have been that because East Hull hadn't really tested Callum Fielding too much over the course of the game; his best save coming from a teasing attempt which he had to watch carefully and palm over the upright, but with five minutes remaining they set up a grandstand finale as Ali Aydemir managed to find the target to give them hope of what would have been an unlikely, undeserved comeback.

Nevertheless, despite the tense nature and concentration required, the Blues' defence stayed resolute during the dying embers to 'get the job done' and make it another league success - an achievement which caps off a really positive week as they've picked up seven points, are unbeaten in three outings and have consequently moved up to fifth position in the league table. 

There's no doubting that confidence should be high amongst the group, especially given that it predominantly consists of young players with their best years in football still ahead of them. All the youngsters (and the wider team as a whole) are demonstrating their capabilities well at the present time, playing some decent football in bits and pieces and should take a collective pride in their efforts.

Individually, the stand out performer in this game (in my opinion) was Micah Parsons who caused numerous problems, took his goal brilliantly and was unfortunate not to be involved in a second on the back of a swashbuckling run where he skipped a few challenges and went close. He looked decent and tormented his marker to shine throughout - so well done!

Elsewhere, Jack Watson's link-up play and movement was good at times and though he lacked composure in one or two instances where he should have done better, he's a key part of this team and what it's achieving and will get regular game-time.

Alongside him was Tyla Bell who had a much-improved second half where he applied himself to the cause after what was a quiet opening 45 minutes. Bailey 'Mascher' Conway has already showcased his potential and what he can do in other games with his ratty, full-blooded nature, fearlessness and ability on the ball and his best contribution was when he collected a yellow card for what is best described as a 'professional foul' just before half-time. It was good caution to get because had he not made that challenge in the position he found himself in, then the opposition would have had a good chance to potentially get in-behind and cause problems on a breakaway counter-attack. 

With other youngsters like Elliott Walker and Sam Kitchen offering consistency, combined with experienced heads such as Jason Stokes and Jordan Buckham helping to underpin things, there's plenty of reasons to be optimistic and confident moving forward. 

It'd be unfair to bombard the lads with high expectations at this early stage but what's certain is that if they're winning games then they'll enjoy it far more than if their losing. So the task is surely to avoid vertigo and getting carried away by the current league position and just try and maintain their good form for as long as is possible.

Next up is an away fixture on Tuesday (20th October) at Harrogate Railway - a team who've slipped down the division by a few places after what was an initially bright start to the season. They were put to the sword by Campion yesterday so will want to respond with a good performance and there's plenty to suggest it'll be a decent enough game.