League Two: We Hate Ben 5-2 Black Lions

We Hate Ben finally halted their alarming run of defeats to beat a Black Lions side that have improved since they began their debut campaign. The game itself was quite controversial again with decisions going against both sides, but WHB managed to complete the victory despite some nervy moments.

With a switch to 4-4-2 for this game WHB looked set to attack from the off. Within the first quarter some early pressure was rewarded with a corner which saw Jason Dodsworth header and some defensive disarray saw the ball palmed into the net by the Black Lion goalkeeper. The goal looked perfectly legitimate but the referee was somewhat forced into making WHB retake the corner after Black Lions protested that the ball had gone wide and crept into the goal through the side netting. The SoccerJoos got their reward however when Hywel Williams ball reached James Peate on a run and he scored his first goal of the match, a decent finish which saw him finally break Gareth Harvey's record. A second Williams assist provided an attempt which saw James Peate smash home his second goal with a good header. A third goal for WHB and Peate saw the team head into the break with a 3-0 lead and looking comfortable.

The second half told a different story however, as WHB looked less comfortable going forward and sometimes shaky at the back, which saw Liam Weaver make one good one on one save before he conceded after being again left open by the defence. WHB managed to restore their three goal advantage when Williams' corner was converted by Paresh Bodalikar, his placed header made it past the goalkeeper, which was his fifth goal of the season. For the second time in two games for WHB, the opposition were awarded a dubious penalty which was dispatched past Weaver, and it seemed to give some belief back to the team. They pushed forward and started to look more dangerous before WHB delivered the final blow when Ross Pope controlled a lovely lofted ball from Jason Dodsworth and slotted it into the bottom of the net. The match fizzled out and WHB were victors for the the first time in five matches.

Manager James Naik made these comments after the match: "Although the performance could have been better and some decisions went against us a win is a win and we are now back in the race for fourth. If our first goal had stood and the penalty hadn't been awarded we would have had a 6-1 win and then no one would have been unhappy. All I ask now is that we again improve on this performance and have a strong finish to the season. I would also like to say congratultions to James Peate for breaking the clubs scoring record, without his goals this season we would not be in the position we are in now."

Team (4-4-2)

Weaver - Dodsworth, Rees, MacDonald, Townsend - Mack, Bodalikar, J. Thomas, Sermon - Peate, Williams.

Subs: (used) Giessler, Scott, Moss, Pope, England, Harvey. (unused) None.

Goals: Peate 3, Bodalikar, Pope.

Man of the match: Peate