Saturday 8th October 2016 Midland League Premier
HEANOR TOWN (3)3 SHAWBURY UNITED (0)2
by STAN WILTON
HEANOR TOWN: McCormack, Marriott, Seale (Staniland 53). Brown, Roulston, Lynch (Warner 53, Harris 69),Nick Hall, Smith, Benger, Wilkinson, Reeves. Substitutes not used – Layton, Power.
SHAWBURY UNITED: Nicholas Ashby, Taylor, Ballard, Lloyd, Hicks, Alex Hall (James Ashley 61), Knowles (Buxton 61), Brant, Hodge, Ellis, Cooper. Substitutes not used – Havard, Andrew Haynes.
REFEREE: Tom Bowkett (Sheldon, Birmingham)

It’s a long way from Wem in deepest Shropshire to Heanor for a football match, and be it the dazzling way the Lions cut them to ribbons with a blistering display of razor sharp passing in the first half, or the fact that the visitors did not travel too well, there was no denying that the home side, looking more or less like a full strength team, were in splendid form.
Nick Ashby in the visitors goal missed a first minute back pass and was somewhat fortunate to see the ball miss the goal by a foot. Heanor were dominating midfield and Elliott Reeves’ shot from Ryan Seale’s pass had Ashley scrambling across his goal to save. Reeves got clear again minutes later but Ashley managed this time to meet the shot with his legs and concede a corner. It might have been a different story had Joe McCormack not come to the rescue of his defence on 17 minutes to save brilliantly from Nathan Hodge who had managed to race clear.
But up front Heanor were pressing hard. Reeves saw one shot fly over the bar and Nathan Benger had the visitors custodian scrambling to save again. Goals had to come, and Heanor opened their account on 24 minutes, Hick Hall and Chris Smith combining to send ELLIOTT REEVES clear right to smash the ball past Ashley. And it was nearly two, Ashley turning Nick Hall’s header from a Dom Wilkinson cross for a corner.
Skipper Stuart Ellis had twice fired a foot over the bar for Shawbury between Heanor’s periods of domination, but that was as good as it got for the visitors and Heanor deservedly brought true reflection of their superiority to the game with two goals in three minutes. NATHAN BENGER was brought down by goalkeeper Ashley as he burst clear but wide of goal and got up to fire the 35th minute penalty low to the goalkeeper’s left. And inside of the next two minutes a fantastic Heanor move involving Benger, Reeves, Smith and Hall had seen the latter shoot wide when the moved deserved better, and then a similar cutting move involving moving the ball swiftly between players saw ELLIOTT REEVES shoot beyond Ashley for a third Heanor goal.
A quick and intelligent throw in from Nick Hall sent Reeves clear again to flip the ball over Ashley, but this time over the bar. Heanor’s passing in this first half had been crisp and a delight to watch.
One assumes the Shawbury management had had serious words with their players during the break, because Heanor suddenly found that the room they enjoyed in midfield in the first half wasn’t there any more. And the determination of the visitors almost paid early dividends as Keanu Cooper sent in a low cross which Hodge missed at the back post by inches. Cooper’s next involvement brought a good save from McCormack at the expense of a corner, followed by Greg Marriott being very timely on hand to boot a goal bound shot from Ellis off the line.
Heanor retaliated with a Reeves cross going begging in front of an open goal and a grand move between Marriott and Wilkinson being headed over by substitute Jack Warner. It was to be Warner’s almost last touch, the substitute receiving a nasty leg injury in the 66th minute from a high tackle by Luke Hicks, resulting in the former being stretchered off and the latter seeing red.
That caused a lengthy hold up to the game which was quickly followed by another when Ellis went down as the game became somewhat more competitive.
And after the excellent first 70 minutes, things suddenly became very scrappy, which appeared to suit the ten men visitors who had by far the better of the remainder of the game.
There was eleven minutes of normal time remaining when substitute KEVIN BUXTON was clear left side of goal to chip McCormack and bring the visitors back into contention. Heanor seemed to panic as the visitors appeared better with ten men than a full compliment.
But Heanor were awarded an 83rd minute penalty when Ashley appeared to follow through on Reeves as he shot for goal, but the goalkeeper kept his team in the game by diving to his left to smother Nathan Benger’s spot kick.
Shawbury brought the scoreline closer than it really was with a deflected shot from STUART ELLIS which looped over McCormack two minutes into stoppage time. And when Heanor made a late threat through Wilkinson Owen Lloyd tripped him up, and there appeared to be a possible stamp as well, the referee showing the red card for the second time in the game now six minutes into added time leaving the visitors with nine men.

YELLOW CARDS: Heanor – Chris Smith (65); Shawbury – Owen Lloyd (88)
RED CARDS: Shawbury – Luke Hicks (66), Owen Lloyd (90+6)
STAR LION: Elliott Reeves
OFFICIAL ATTENDANCE; 153