Fair to say it was a slow start from Sporting. Newport Pagnell dominated possession in the opening stages and Sporting struggled to get out of their own half for the first 10 minute or so. That said, it was actually Sporting that had the first real chance in the game. Charlie played a nice ball to send Fin through on goal but his effort went just the wrong side of the post.

This pattern of play continued for much of the first half with Newport Pagnell generally having the better of things and Sporting playing more on the break. Newport Pagnell had some good openings but were wayward with their finishing, while for Sporting Josh Green had the best chance but fired wide when played through.

0-0 at halftime.

Hopes were high for a second half improvement but in truth it continued to be a scrappy affair.

Sporting certainly improved and playing down hill enjoyed more of the play. Charlie was swinging in some nice crosses from the left wing, Cyril looked lively as always down the right wing and James, Will, Jayden, and Josh Goble were all looking to create from midfield. But playing against a strong Newport defence, clear cut chances were at a premium.

At the other end Sporting’s back 3 of Ollie, George and Connor, then later Hayden when George picked up a knock, looked equally impressive and were largely dealing with Newport Pagnell’s counter attacks. There were a few lapses where Newport got in on goal but Chris made a couple of good one on one saves when needed. Josh Goble also made a great saving tackle when Sporting nearly shot themselves in the foot when playing out from the back.

As the game moved into the closing stages Sporting were desperately pushing forward looking for that elusive goal. Fin was unlucky with a volleyed effort from a cross that went just over, while James finished a driving run into the box with a good strike on goal that the Newport keeper saved. There were numerous late corners and free kicks into the Newport box but in the end Sporting just couldn’t find that breakthrough.

As the full time whistle blew, 0-0 was the final score.

A frustrating morning for Sporting. We certainly weren’t at our best and probably didn’t do enough to deserve to win the game. However, on a positive note, we looked good defensively and made sure that if we didn’t win the game, we didn’t lose it either. And most importantly, we move onto the last league game of the season in 2 weeks time with all to play for still.

This week’s Gartec Player of the Match went to Connor, one of our centre backs who put in a great shift and got rewarded with a deserved clean sheet. Well done Connor.

I’m not sure what the equivalent of a clean sheet for a linseman is, but thanks as usual to Ben Goble who picked up the flag for us this week.