Shortwood boss Matty Blythe pronounced himself happy with a point after his side extended their unbeaten run to two months with a 1-1 draw at Malmesbury Victoria, writes Jim Cunneen.
Blythe said: “It was a tough away game on Saturday on a very heavy pitch and in hindsight, I’m happy with the point. The draw means we’ve been unbeaten for two months in the league, which is a great turnaround from how we started.”
Earlier, Would gave a debut to U18s player Tom King who came on for the last 30 minutes.
Malmesbury took the lead after 16 minutes. Wood dealt with an initial cross but when the ball came back in Parker swept the ball home – a little against the run of play.
Wood fought back – Byrnes forced keeper Clatworthy into a full-length save and Barrett had a shot cleared off the line before Wood deservedly levelled after 31 minutes. Tryner made a superb tackle to gain possession and found Bowles who released Lennon Lewis, who rifled home from the edge of the box.
The second period followed the same pattern but it took a great saving tackle from Tryner to deny Parker as he was about to shoot after 52 minutes. Parker then sent a header straight into Brabham’s hands after 62 and the rest of the game saw Wood generally in attack mode.
Players understandably tired and Wood introduced King and Marks to add fresh impetus. Beadle almost put King in, Clatworthy tipped over a Lewis shot, and then a good run from King forced Lewis to make a good stop as Lewis waited for any loose ball.
All at Shortwood would like to congratulate Luke Soule and his partner Becki on the birth of their second daughter Lily on Friday.
Shortwood: Brabham, Peyton, Barrett, Tunnicliff, Tryner, Byrnes, Phin (Marks 73), Beadle (Montague 81), Lewis, Bowles (King 60), Porter
Star Man: Joe Tryner
