Competition

Date

Saturday 20th March 2010

A Gutsy Performance from Marine

By Sam Morshead (Swindon Advertiser)

 

Gutsy Supermarine almost emerged from a difficult away venture to Nuneaton Town with a point on Saturday, only for a controversial late refereeing decision to hand the win to their hosts and leave travelling players and coaching staff fuming. Official Richard Parker awarded high-flying Nuneaton a 78th minute penalty for an alleged trip on home midfielder James Armson, but Marine boss Mark Collier was far from convinced.

 

“There was a challenge that took place in the area where there were lots of bodies, and a big shout came up from the crowd of +700,” he said. “That builds big pressure on a referee and it is difficult for them, and in this case I think he was quite possibly influenced by it.” Rob Oddy stepped up to beat Matt Bulman from 12-yards, ripping up the good work and raw determination which had seen the visitors stifle the second-placed side throughout.

 

Collier was delighted with his team’s resolve despite the defeat, a performance he believes reiterated the fact Marine have the edge in their battle against relegation from the Southern Premier. “We did feel hard done by at the end,” he said. “It is difficult to take whenever you lose 1-0, but when it’s from a dubious penalty it’s a little harder. “But we stood toe-to-toe with a big non-league club and more than held our own. “The clubs may be poles apart, but the teams were not. “We worked hard to get people behind the ball and spoil as much as we could and it so nearly worked.”

 

Marine’s more defensive game plan reduced their options in attack, with only Ashan Holgate coming close to finding the net. The former Swindon Town man fired wide from eight yards late on. This was the Hunts Copse outfit’s fifth game in 12 days, and with limited playing resources available to manager Collier many had predicted a walkover for the home side.

 

However, Nuneaton only managed to create a handful of clear-cut opportunities. Guy Hadland fired wide just before half time and Dave Bampton cleared off the line from Chris Dillon after the break as Supermarine defied their lack of numbers in search of a positive result.

 

After the game, Collier was proud of his depleted squad and insisted displays of a similar nature for the remaining games will see them preserve their Southern Premier status. “The game was played at high intensity and we coped well,” he said. “The result was unwarranted but if we continue to perform like that we won’t be in the bottom four come the end of the season.”

 

From a Nuneaton perspective

Nuneaton Town 1 Swindon Supermarine 0