UHL Hellenic League
Shortwood 3 Moreton Rangers 1
A hamstring injury to top scorer Luke Soule marred Shortwood United’s victory, writes Jim Cuneen.
Soule pulled up in the dying embers of the game in which Wood were indebted to new goalkeeper Rob Sims, who has joined the Nailsworth club from Pershore Town.
Wood scored against the run of play when Lewis Fogg hurled in a long throw and captain Joe Tryner headed it on for Adam Shipan to score an own goal. The impressive Lennon Lewis made it 2-0 before the break.
Lewis hit the bar after the break after tenacious work from Payne. However, Wood made it 3-0 on 72 minutes – Fogg fizzing in a free-kick from 30 yards.
With five minutes to go, Middleton scored the goal Moreton deserved from 20 yards to give them some consolation but there was still time for Lewis to rattle the bar for the second time – this time from yet another free-kick from 25 yards.
Shortwood boss Matt Blythe welcomed the victory after a three-week break, he said: “It was great to start the new year with three points.
“Moreton put us under a lot of pressure early on. We got the first goal against the run of play, but from there on the confidence grew and I felt we controlled the rest of the game quite well and were the better team for the remainder. It’s been a while since we’ve picked up all three points and hopefully, we gain some confidence from that and find some consistency.
Shortwood: Sims, Peyton, Barrett, Fogg (Harper – Emerson 80_, Nowell, Tryner, Hobbs (Payne 60), Byrnes, Soule, Gibbs (Porter 75) Lewis
Star Man: Lewis Fogg.
