The Excelsiors finished their season in style with a convincing 1-4 win over New Inn midweek to round-out a rollercoaster season.
Beginning the game with definite intent to end their season on a high, the lads came out at full throttle and didn’t show signs of letting up. Jamie Laurent and Ewan Harty came out of the blocks early on in a conscious effort to gain ground, with Tyla Preece holding firm at the back.
Preece would round out a great season that has seen him gain praise from fans and foes of the club alike, drilling a goal into the net with cries of contest from the opposition that would have made Maradona look sheepish, putting the lads 0-1 up. This looked certain to be paired with a Ewan Harty effort after some lovely football saw the ball finding itself at the youngster’s feet but the referee called for offside.
A Lewis Jones ball in would meet the educated feet of Jamie Laurent and the midfield bulldog allowed the opposition goalkeeper the unenviable task of watching the ball pass him to put the Excelsiors to 0-2.
As New Inn began to trail, their vocal goalkeeper attempted to energise his team and direct traffic from the back, which saw the home side put themselves into overdrive in an attempt to overwhelm the Excelsiors midfield, but their efforts fell on rocky shores as the lads held firm despite some frantic passing across the width of the pitch. A third goal looked certain as Harty picked out captain Brett Morgan, but the wily pitch general couldn’t get enough on it and saw his effort negated as halftime drew to a close with the boys holding a very respectable two goal lead.
Much of the second half saw the boys sit back with an air of confidence that occasionally opened up potential for the hosts to capitalise, New Inn enduring any attacks at goal and stamping out the glimmer of further goals. Not to be denied however, Declan Bull expertly turned the opposition inside out and drove an effort into the bottom corner with finesse and ease to extend the lead to 0-3.
As the game wound down, it seemed a certainty that the lads would be in receipt of the win and a Jamie Laurent free kick may have failed to find its mark but the Declan Bull follow-up most definitely didn’t, making it 0-4, as New Inn could only hope for consolation at this point.
Unfortunately, that consolation goal would come soon after as Ioan Fisher’s clean sheet was swiped away as the young, gutsy keeper was finally beaten by New Inn despite giving a great account of himself throughout the game. With things at 1-4, crunch time came and went as New Inn realised their predicament and despite a few short flurries of potential upset late on, the home side was held at bay by a determined Excelsiors as the whistle signalled the end of the final 90 minutes for the 1st Team in the 2017/18 season.
