“Today we got punished”- ST MARGARETS OLD BOYS COME OUT ON TOP IN 5-GOAL THRILLER

Joe Matthews Reporting...

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St Margarets Old Boys claim the three points after a 5-goal thriller goes the distance, with the away side’s left winger Jay Hambira bagging a hard-earned, and ultimately game-winning brace.

St Margaret's Manager Greg McLean said: “It’s always a great game when we play against [Sefton Park Rangers]. After they came back into the game the second time, we started thinking ‘blimey’ we need to get something out of this game!

“We are just taking it game by game, and I think we just want to finish as high in the table as we can now. We’ve still got some big games to play, and we’ll probably contribute to the title race in some way. We are definitely an outside bet, but just happy to get the three points today.”

Andrew McEvoy, Sefton’s manager, said: “It was a great game; a good advertisement for the quality of this level as well, which every week I’m impressed by. It’s so end-to-end, and for us more often than not we end up coming out on the losing end but every week we are playing some great stuff.

“We had two corners against us and conceded from them which we’ve got to do better. We’ve also again got to take the chances when we get them. It’s very rare you see St Margeys make a mistake, and today we got punished because of that.”

The game started with a nervy ten minutes, taking eight of those before the first shot was taken. It went to Sefton Park Rangers, and so did the momentum of the early stages, as Ralph Chea really made himself known down the left-wing.

But despite the early pressure, the breakthrough came, as McEvoy said, from a Saints corner in the 16th minute, as Hambira got his first from a somewhat lucky deflection in the box.

They couldn’t do it initially, but SPR soon retorted with their equaliser. And what a way to do it. The move started out wide with Reece Owen and Josh Edgar manoeuvring the ball to put Chea 1 on 1 with Adam Derbyshire at right-back. It was a closely fought battle all game, but Chea got the better of him this time, and drilled a low cross in from the byline, where SPR striker Jamil Joseph powerfully converted from a few yards out.

The visitors hadn’t lost sight of the win though, as they went ahead just 13 minutes later, once again thanks to Hambira and Joe Davenport’s smooth link-up, with the former beating his defender, before slotting under the legs of the keeper. 2-1.

The next goal came much later in the game, as with less than 20 left to play, Joseph once again converted from close range to equalise for the Oranje, before just minutes later, when St Margarets Old Boys finally got the winner in the 77th minute.

An awkward cross proved difficult for SPR keeper Dave Potter to deal with, and by hook or by crook the ball found itself just over the line, when the referee whistled to signify the goal. Many of the players showed their confused frustration immediately, but replays show it was the right decision; the ball had crossed the line.

Ultimately, a tough loss for Sefton Park, but they’ll look to put this result behind them in two weeks’ time when they take on WoodStreet Saturday, the team sitting below them in their next league game.

Match Highlights & Interviews: https://youtu.be/2AJCmQNG3PQ