ROYSTON TOWN FC v HEDNESFORD TOWN FC
Saturday 22nd February 2020
A game that had 0-0 written all over it, was settled in injury time as Luke Warner-Eley’s stunning free-kick gave Royston a barely deserved 3 points.
The quality of the free-kick was in stark contrast to the 90 minutes that preceded it, as the teams served up a turgid affair, albeit in difficult conditions.
The first half offered little to entertain the crowd, with the first opportunity of note seeing Ben O’Hanlon hit the side of the Royston net with a free kick in the 41st minute that Joe Welch had well covered.
Royston finished the half on top, forcing 3 late corners, the last of which saw Scott Bridges nudge the ball wide of the post, as The Pitmen were unable to clear.
The second half served up more of the same mediocrity, with the swirling wind making things difficult for both sides. The home faithful had to wait until the 77th minute for the first real sight of goal, as Gus Scott-Morriss strode onto Josh Castiglione’s flick, before firing wide.
Sensing that they may get something from the game, Hednesford started to gain some territory and Welch had to be alert to save from Daniel Sweeney in the 85th minute, as he turned his well-struck shot away for a corner.
This left the scene set, for Warner-Eley to step up and curl a delicious left-foot free-kick into the top corner of the net and keep Royston’s promotion push on track.
Royston: 1-Welch, 2-Scott-Morriss, 3-Warner-Eley, 4-Bridges, 5-Parr, 6-Brathwaite ©, 7-Castiglione, 8-Watkins (16-Asafu-Adjaye 46), 9-Adams (15-Ofosu 69), 10-Bateman, 11-Green (12-Martin 80)
Unused: 14-Brighton, 17-Smart
MOM: Luke Warner-Eley
| ROYSTON TOWN | HEDNESFORD TOWN | |
| 3 | EFFORTS ON TARGET | 1 |
| 3 | EFFORTS OFF TARGET | 1 |
| 4 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 2 |
| 15 | FREE KICKS AWARDED | 11 |
| 8 | CORNERS | 4 |
| 1 | YELLOW CARDS | 2 |
| 0 | RED CARDS | 0 |
