Brocton 1-2 Stone Old Alleynians
Matthew Smith’s Alleynians claimed a tremendous pre-season scalp last night, overcoming the challenge of reigning Midland Combination Premier Division champions Brocton at Silkmore Lane.
Chris Heard opened the scoring for a compact, hard-working Old Boys side midway through the first half, firing home a Dan Farrelly lay-off to cap an excellent team move.
With the game delicately poised, Brocton finally found a way through a well-drilled Alleynians back line to equalize around the hour mark. It didn’t take long for an Old Boys riposte though, with substitutes Carl Dibden and Danny Kocyigit linking up well to exploit a gap in the Brocton defence, Kocyigit latching on to a perfectly weighted Dibden reverse pass to finish superbly and restore his side’s lead.
“This is a great win for us tonight and shows the progress we have made in a short space of time. We have focused a lot on defending properly as a team and that definitely showed tonight as the lads are getting used to the shape we want.” said Smith afterwards. “We made ourselves hard to beat, but also showed we have quality going forward as well. Our work ethic was fantastic, and everybody showed a desire to win. If we can carry this mentality and consistency into the season we hope to have a good campaign.”
The Old Boys finish their pre-season campaign with a home fixture against Staffs County Senior League and Staffordshire Vase champions Wolstanton United on Saturday at Stone Dominoes, kick-off 2pm.
