Real Ma-Dad 7
Chilvers 2
Ereira 2
Taylor 1
Watkins 1
Wiseman 1
Dadston Villa 10
Roe (L) 4
Smith 3
Brock 2
OG 1
Dad of the Match: Barker
Dadston Villa kicked off a best possible start to 2019 by closing the gap on league leaders Real Ma-Dad to 4 points with a battling victory. Real suffered their first defeat in their last game before Christmas, and it was perfect timing for second placed Dadston to strike with Real performing far below their best to make it two defeats in a row and turn the title race into a real battle.
The game kicked off in a 0 degrees climate, with frost already forming on the Goals turf and both teams took their time to click back through the gears after the winter break. Dadston looked happy to sit deep and catch Real on the counter, and it brought goals from Roe, Smith and Brock who all caught Real short at the back. Real did score themselves in between these goals through with Wiseman, Watkins and Ereira, although Wiseman had to leave the pitch with a bloodied nose after trying to get past the solid frame of Andy Cross. At the other end Dadston were awarded a penalty as Chilvers was adjudged to have gained an advantage by entering the area but Ashton made a great stop to bat Roe’s penalty away. The teams ended the half all square after a tight battle at 3-3.
The second half was a rather different game as Dadston decided to press hard and high on Real and force the issue and it worked a treat as Dadston took the lead again with two early second half goals from Roe and Smith (who scored from an absolutely impossible angle!). Real tried to get their foot on the game but they could not deal with Dadston’s aggressive approach, and when they did breakthrough they faced an in-form Stu Barker who made a number of top saves to keep Dadston in front, but Real finally pegged the score back to 6-6 with goals from Taylor and Chilvers. Kemp was then set through on goal with the chance of poking Real in front only to be clattered off the ball with just the keeper to beat, but the ref waved away protests and Dadston went up the other end to take the lead. Further goals from Smith and Roe put Dadston into a commanding lead, and Real just did not have the quality on the night to breakdown Dadston’s stubborn defence, and Barker did enough to push away some good shots from Wiseman and Chilvers as the seconds ticked down to a well fought victory.
Barkers performance see’s him leap into a well deserved lead at the top of the Golden Glove, leading Ashton by just 0.1 goals per game, and also sees him leap to joint top in the Dad of the Match awards table.
Remember to visit www.matchofthedads.com for all the latest stats, tables and highlights and keep an eye out for next week's podcast which will cover all the latest news updates for Match of the Dads (and there are a few big ones!).