Result – Stone OA 0-1 Wolstanton Utd
The Old Boys concluded their pre-season campaign with a narrow home defeat to Wolstanton Utd at Wellbeing Park on Saturday.
Mark Grice‘s second half strike was enough to seal victory for the Staffs County Senior League Premier Division and Staffordshire Vase champions, but the visitors were pushed extremely close by an Alleynians side missing a host of first team players.
A goalless first half saw the Old Boys stick to a compact defensive philosophy that has served them well in pre-season, while looking to exploit gaps in the opposition going forward. Ultimately, the two well-drilled outfits cancelled each other out, though Paul Griffiths went closest for the Alleynians as he just failed to make contact with a ball that was fizzed across the six yard box.
A lapse in concentration midway through the second period allowed Wolstanton to capitalise against the run of play with a quick free kick, Matt Burslem’s excellent low save rebounding to Grice who blasted home with all of the goal to aim at.
Despite the defeat, Alleynians manager Matthew Smith was pleased with his side’s performance:
“We can take a lot of positives from running a double-winning team so close. We had a lot of first team players missing, but the lads that played worked hard and stuck to the plan we have been working on throughout pre-season. We had our chances as well but unfortunately couldn’t find the equaliser.”
“To concede in the manner we did is disappointing especially as we were on top at the time, but we can go into next week’s first league fixture against Trysull in good form, and knowing we can compete.”
That fixture against Trysull takes place at Wellbeing Park on Saturday, kicking-off at 3pm.
