Loughborough were well worth their eventual victory in this game, but the manner in which the goals came could hardly have been more bizarre. As early as the second minute of the game Loughborough’s Moulds was shepherded apparently harmlessly across the field from right flank to middle seemingly simply with no one to pass to ahead of himself.

He decided to take on the shot and from that distance there appeared little threat, but it bobbled all along the ground and into the bottom right hand corner of the net to give the home side an early lead and belated Christmas present.

On 7 minutes Andy Chandler collected the ball at the heart of Brocton’s defence and slid it right into Richard Jones’ path. Jones lifted the ball over the advancing Loughborough back line and Andre Campbell was first to the ball, shooting quickly across the keeper, who was relieved to see it drift wide of his far post. Andy Harrison repeated the move on the quarter hour, but this time the keeper was alive to it and well positioned to field the shot.

The enforced substitution of Matt Skinner, having been caught on the ankle in a tackle, upset Brocton’s plans at the back and I that department Brocton never quite recovered, with the pace and movement of Loughborough causing problems for the remainder of the match.

By the half hour the second goal felt as though it was due, but it came via the softest gift of a penalty. Dave Langston had won his tackle and the ball was away from the danger area before an almost apologetic piece of acrobatics found his leg to tumble over. The referee hesitated before astounding everyone by pointing to the spot. Mesampa stepped up and took the gift. Langston and keeper Mike Shelper were still apoplectic an hour later at the finish of the game.

A further reshuffle brought on Ben Harrison for Kirk Lowe, pushing Richard Reeves back into the centre of the defence and Harrison’s chip into the box for brother Andy nearly brought rewards just before the close of the half, but his lunge into the box could only push the ball wide of the post.

It took a Gary Fife free kick and a typical Andy Harrison header to give Brocton a lift and an early second half goal and with a better period of passing and movement of their own, Brocton at least made a game of the second period. The best of their chances fell to Richard Reeves who crashed a shot from the edge of the box into the side netting.

But still in that period, Loughborough produced goal threats of their own amidst the assured passing and managed to scrape Brocton’s bar twice before the end.

Loughborough 2 v 1 Brocton