Pre-Season Friendly

Long Eaton United Reserves 1 Rocester Reserves 3

Kevin Reeves' reserve team remain unbeaten in their pre-season build-up following this hard-earned 3-1 victory at Grange Park, the home of Long Eaton United.

After opening their friendly matches with home draws against Burton League champions Red Lion Horninglow (2-2) and Staffs County League neighbours Holt JCB (1-1), the reserves travelled to Long Eaton for what was expected to be their toughest test so far, and it proved to be just that.

The Romans started the game well and were rewarded after just six minutes when Jon Lamburn rifled the ball high into the net after the home defence failed to clear John Pearson's corner.

It was the perfect start, but Rocester were dealt a blow five minutes later when a robust challenge on striker Mark Richardson saw him hobble from the pitch. He was replaced by lone substitute Michael West, which meant all the players now had to play through the full 90 minutes on a humid night.

There were more feisty challenges from both sides during a very competitive first half, but the referee handled it all very well and kept a lid on things with a sensible approach.

Long Eaton began to create a few chances and should have equalised on 26 minutes when Dan Severn blazed over the bar from a great position 10 yards out. They came even closer five minutes later when Colin Dewhurst met a long cross from the right with a header that bounced off the bar before going out for a goal kick.

A third chance quickly followed for the home side when their tricky left winger Ian Buick sent over a great cross for Severn, but Karl Smith in the Rocester goal expertly finger-tipped Severn's header, which was destined for the top left corner, over the bar.

Having weathered the storm Rocester were back on the attack, and they doubled their lead just before the break with an excellent goal. John Pearson's accurate pass picked out Lamburn outside the area and with his back to goal, Lamburn wrong-footed the home defence with a cheeky back-heel that freed Chris Sayles and he tucked his shot beyond the goalkeeper's dive to make it 2-0.

Long Eaton made wholesale changes to their side at half time, and added a little bit of farce to the game by fielding two number 15s, two number 12s, two number 8s and two number 3s!

Lamburn almost netted a third Romans goal three minutes into the second period when his header came back off the bar, and he followed that soon afterwards with a powerful low shot that was well saved.

On 62 minutes Long Eaton pulled a goal back with a terrific strike from their young Albanian midfielder Ndricim Krasnici, whose rising shot from 25 yards gave Smith absolutely no chance.

The final half hour saw a tiring Rocester side defend stubbornly against their fresh-legged opponents. Central defenders Rob Winstanley and Darren Bullock were excellent at the back, but it was a big team effort that kept Karl Smith's goal well-protected.

With three minutes remaining, Nat Pearson pounced on a loose ball on the right of the Long Eaton area and thrashed it into the net to give Rocester a thoroughly deserved 3-1 win.

Romans: Karl Smith; Andy Duvall; Phil Bull; Mark Knox; Rob Winstanley; Darren Bullock; Nat Pearson; Chris Sayles; Mark Richardson; Jon Lamburn; John Pearson. Sub: Michael West.

Manager Kevin Reeves was delighted with the performance, and said afterwards; "It was a great team effort, we defended really well and showed that we've already got a tremendous team spirit."

"The game was a really good work-out for us, very competitive, and it will have improved our fitness levels no end."

"We're still undefeated, which is a good habit to get into - that will also give the players more confidence."