Heanor Town 1-2 Long Eaton United – Wednesday 25 April
Midland Football League Premier Division
Fixture backlog has been the ongoing problem for borough football clubs this season with snow and rain regularly leading to postponements and therefore matches to clear.
Notoriously a bogey side for them, Long Eaton United played Heanor Town on Wednesday night to clear one of those outstanding fixtures. The hosts were also submerged in a stack of matches to catch up on and they had played Stourport on Tuesday, with Coleshill Town visiting on Thursday.
This, then, was a chance for the Blues to tame the arguably jaded Lions and the early moments of the game saw the borough side begin to take aim. They were rewarded for their efforts as early as the eighth minute when Zak Goodson turned his marker and slotted the ball past the keeper Pierrepoint. The advantage was doubled with nineteen on the clock – a corner was firstly cleared but the ball was put back into the box from where Romaine Graham flicked it in.
From here, Heanor began an all-out attack to claw their way back into the game, but shots were saved or prevented as the first half rounded out. Seven minutes into the second half, Danny Gordon narrowed the deficit for the Lions after a corner went straight in and just two minutes later, they felt they had a chance to make it 2-2 – Gordon’s corners causing Long Eaton some problems, but the referee waved away a penalty appeal
Long Eaton were beginning to look a little vulnerable although they did have chances to score again. Scott Low was in commanding form for the Blues though to deny late shots from Sleigh and Bullock and the win was another step towards confirming a Top Ten finish this season – the Blues landing in eighth at the end of the night.