Seven months into the Lincolnshire League campaign, the Colts played the return fixture against the side which visited Windsor Park on the opening day in August. A four-nil victory that day put Crowle into second place in the table, the spot still occupied by the Colts with just two games to play.

The hosts had earned a hard-fought three points in their previous match at Grimsby Borough Reserves and came close to scoring in the fifth minute when leading-scorer Kian Salter aimed a shot over Zach Beedle from twenty-five yards only to see the ball strike the junction of post and crossbar. It would be one of the few chances either side created before the break, Henry Cook had Crowle’s first serious attempt just before the half-hour when he powered past three defenders but ran out of space as Barton keeper Josh Thompson dived at his feet to block the shot.

The ball eventually found its way into the Swans’ goal two minutes into first half stoppage time after perhaps the only lapse in concentration from Barton’s defence. A Joe Hare corner from the left wing cleared everyone but an unmarked Hashlee Cranidge on the edge of the six yard box, level with the back post. The centre-back had time to steady himself before guiding a shot back across the goal and in off the post for his fifth goal of the season.

The second half brought more possession for the visitors and, although the game remained tight, the Colts weren’t without chances. Thompson and Josh Lacey combined to deny Liam Snow three minutes after the restart when the keeper dived bravely at the striker’s feet to take the sting out of a shot before his centre-back slid across the goalline to complete the clearance. Hare pounced on a loose ball near the corner to provide Crowle captain Jordan Spencer with a chance to double Crowle’s advantage four minutes later but the skipper headed wide and it wasn’t until midway through the half that the second goal went in.

Another corner from the left, this one taken by substitute Lewis Greathead, swung into a crowded six-yard box from where Cook headed the ball through a herd of defenders into the net, giving the midfielder his fourteenth goal of the season, and the scoreline its final appearance. A spectacular drive from Matthew Steeper, tipped over the bar by Thompson, was as close as either side would come to another goal and the final whistle brought the game to an end after five minutes of stoppages.

Crowle Colts FC

Match details

Match date

Kickoff

Competition

League position

Team Sponsors

Login