Pinxton V Leicester St Andrews (FA Vase)

​Pinxton were looking to continue their encouraging start to the season with a result in the FA Vase yesterday. They have adapted well to step six following promotion from the Central Midlands Alliance League last season with four wins and two draws from nine matches in UCL Division One.

Key players such as Ben Jones have made the step up from step seven. He scored 18 goals last season in Pinxton’s title success in the Premier Division South of the Central Midlands Alliance League and has scored five so far.   

Leicester St Andrews were a side in form coming into this match with some promising results in MFL Division One. They had won five out of their last seven matches in the league and were only three points off the play offs. The visitors were looking for a run in the FA Vase to add to their good start to the season.

The atmosphere around the Welfare Ground was welcoming. The people at Pinxton were brilliant with any media queries yesterday and do a lot of hard work behind the scenes to make it a good match day experience. The programme on offer was informative and included a history of both teams alongside some notes from Pinxton manager Mark Richards.

The ground is accessible to visit for casual groundhoppers across the East Midlands. Supporters can get the 9.3 bus from Derby to Mansfield and get off at the Victoria Road stop. From there it’s a seven-minute walk to the ground. It’s well worth a visit and a chance to take in step six football.   

​Starting line ups

Pinxton’s starting line up included Will Sherwood starting in goal and Harvey Ford captaining the team from central defence. The formation looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Tom Sharpe leading the line up front and being supported by Sion Green and Ben Jones on the wings.

There were three changes from the team that started against Rainworth Miners Welfare last weekend with Louis Richards coming into the team and playing in holding midfield alongside Brad Newby.

Leicester St Andrews’ starting line up included Luke McAdam starting in goal and Shaun Barber captaining the team up front. The formation appeared to be a 3-5-2 with a front two of Sean Cross and Shaun Barber being supported by Jake Warren from attacking midfield.

There were two changes from the side that started against Saffron Dynamo in mid-week with Levi Fray coming into the team and playing as part of a back three. 

​First Half

The opening stages of the match were cagey with both teams settling into it early on. Both Pinxton and Leicester St Andrews were doing well to close down the space in front of goal. The first real chance came when Brad Newby had a shot from distance well blocked by Sean Cross in the box.

Leicester St Andrews settled into the match well and their first good chance came in the middle of the first half. A well delivered corner found Shaun Barber at the back post who put his header over the bar. None the less, it was a well worked set piece that offered hope for the MFL side.

Pinxton looked like an organised side yesterday against Leicester St Andrews and they worked hard off the ball to limit the chances for the visitors. Louis Richards was doing a good job of breaking up the play from holding midfield and Kane Hempshall was defending well at the back to take the pressure off them and help them grow into the match.

The visitors were building some momentum after the half hour mark and linking up the play well in the final third. A brilliant passing move saw Labeed Abdulrahman play an inviting low ball to Shaun Barber in the box whose effort hit the right-hand post. They had a good fifteen-minute spell in front of goal but couldn’t find the opening goal to take the lead.

Pinxton did well to see out the pressure from Leicester St Andrews and were threatening for the opener in the closing stages of the first half. Ben Jones made a good run down the left-hand side before having an effort well saved by Luke McAdam who pushed it over for a corner.

The hosts were committing players forward and took the lead when Ben Jones was free in the box before producing a quality finish into the top right corner to make it 1-0.

Pinxton managed the rest of the first half well to go into the break with the lead.

Second Half

Pinxton started the second half positively and were on the front foot in search of a second goal. A good ball played across the box found Cameron Brown who scored at the back post to make it 2-0 to the UCL side.

​The visitors responded well to the set back and kept going throughout the second half. Andy Melville cut inside from the right-hand side before having a shot go wide of the far post in the 65th minute.

Leicester St Andrews showed a lot of effort and endeavour yesterday, but it was not quite clicking in the final third against Pinxton.

​The hosts made it 3-0 in the latter stages of the second half thanks to pro-active play in the box. Mark Richards made a clever tactical change with Brad Newby playing up front and Tom Sharpe moving further back. It paid off when Brad Newby got a shot off that hit the post before falling to Connor Mogford who anticipated it well for Pinxton’s third.

Brad Newby was leading the line well up front for the hosts in the closing stages of the second half and had an effort from range hit the cross bar.

The visitors were pushing in the final stages of the second half and were building up some momentum. Substitute Freddie Young had a shot instinctively saved by Will Sherwood who tipped it round the post in the 84th minute.

Leicester St Andrews got a goal back late on when Andy Melville made a good run into the box before producing a quality finish into the top left corner.

The MFL side got another goal back a few minutes later to make it 3-2 deep into stoppage time when Shaun Barber had a deflected shot go into the bottom left corner.

The visitors ultimately ran out of time to get an equaliser, but it was a spirited fightback late on to reduce the deficit.

Full Time

Pinxton played well yesterday and got an encouraging win in the FA Vase against Leicester St Andrews who are challenging for the play offs in MFL Division One. They will be looking forward to the first-round draw tomorrow afternoon. Mark Richards is building a good squad, and they have been competitive in step six so far.

There’s a lot of continuity from their success in the Central Midlands Alliance. The top six players with the most appearances for Pinxton at step seven last season were in the starting line up yesterday.

They will be looking to keep their form going with an away game against Holwell Sports next weekend.   

It was a tough day at the office for Leicester St Andrews, but they showed character to keep going in the second half and had promising spells in front of goal. They looked like a side with quality on the ball to cause problems with Labeed Abdulrahman impressing on the left wing and Shaun Barber getting into some good positions in the box.      

They will be looking to bounce back with home matches against Ingles (League Cup) and Lutterworth Athletic (Division One) over the next week.                 

FT score: Pinxton 3-2 Leicester St Andrews

Man of the match: Ben Jones (Pinxton)

Attendance: 87

Match report written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League