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The
Hamsters recorded their first home victory of
the season in a thrilling encounter against
Mierosoft in which they triumphed 5-4. With a
strong gale gusting across the Hamsters Cage,
McCarthy had his sides opening day defeat to
Mierosoft fresh in the mind, and as such he
named his strongest possible side for the game.
Dougie Lane captained the side, and was
partnered at the back by the returning Ian
Simpson. Mark Potter was handed a first start of
the season in the holding midfield role in
Robert Jones absence, while a home debut was
handed to Sam Franks on the right of the
attacking diamond, with Peter Chapman on the
left. Kevin Ticehurst made his first start of
the season as the lone attacker, with McCarthy
in goal
The
Hamsters got off to a good start, when Sam
Franks opened his Hamsters account within the
first five minutes. A clever piece of play down
the left saw him beat two men before slotting
the ball past Chris Davis to put his former team
1-0 down, and the enthusiasm he showed for his
new team was clear to see in his celebration,
although unfortunately he was made to look like
a bit of an idiot by his new team mates as he
celebrated on his own
Mierosoft
showed why they are so dangerous on the counter
though, as the Hamsters pushed forward looking
for a second, as Dave Riley was allowed to
break, but his powerful shot was met with a
fantastic one handed stop by McCarthy. Mierosoft
were typically well organised at the back, as
they allowed the Hamsters to play their
traditional slow build up game, with Ian Simpson
the main architect, but attempted to thwart any
attempts to break into the visitors half. They
were powerless to stop the Hamsters going 2-0 up
though, as a clever pass from Mark Potter saw
Sam Franks released down the right, and his ball
into the box was perfect for Kevin Ticehurst to
slot home. Ticehurst should have made it 3-0
moments later with a near-identical move, but he
somehow managed to put the ball over the bar
from a yard out to leave some fans bemused and
some suffering from chronic laughter
As
Mierosoft continued to sit back, the Hamsters
committed more men forward in order to make a
further breakthrough, but it soon proved a
mistake as Dave Riley was able to pull the game
back to 2-1 with a trademark shot from distance.
Dougie Lane was proving a rock at the back, with
a few moments of pure madness to match,
including an attempted flick that allowed
Michael Still to get in on goal, but Lanes
blushes were spared by a fine McCarthy save.
With Riley running things in the midfield, it
wasn't long until Mierosoft were back on level
terms, as Peter Perrin grabbed a debut goal for
Mierosoft after being played in one-on-one with
McCarthy
Needing
to respond, the Hamsters settled into their neat
passing game that hasn't been seen for some
times, and should have gone ahead once again. A
shot from distance from Potter saw Davis save
well, and as the ball rang lose Peter Chapman
had the goal at his mercy. Rather than score, he
decided to calmly pass the ball back into Davis
hands, sparking rumors he had laid money on the
draw, although these were soon discarded by
Chapmans wild and farfetched story of leg
problems.
He
made up for this glaring miss though with his
hard work rate, and this was rewarded when the
veteran striker set up Ticehurst for his second
of the game from close range. With Mierosoft
reeling from slipping behind, arguably
undeservedly, Ticehurst took advantage of poor
play at the back between Craig Kelly and Davis
to nip in and claim his hat-trick with a true
poaches goal. The Hamsters soon went 5-2 up,
when a superb cross from Ticehurst was met with
Peter Chapmans first header in living memory, as
he notched a classic strikers goal with the
downwards flick
At
5-2, the Hamsters took their feet off the pedal,
and began flairing it up as is usually the case.
Things soon backfired though, as Chapman and
McCarthy did their best Chuckle Brothers
impression to allow the nippy Still in to net
from close range. Kelly then rattled the post
with an astonishing shot from distance that had
McCarthy completely beaten, before Riley added a
fourth to give Mierosoft hope of a comeback. The
Hamsters dug in deep though, and when Mark
Potter fell over for the umpteenth time in the
game, Dougie Lane was able to lose the second
ball by clearing it out of the stadium, to give
the Hamsters a massive three points in a
thrilling game at the Hamsters Cage
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