Substitute Pickford picks unlucky Vale's pockets

St Martin's 2, Vale Rec 1

THREADBARE St Martin's pulled off a smash-and-grab win on Saturday to keep their title aspirations alive. Vale Rec certainly deserved to leave Blanche Pierre Lane with something to show for their efforts, as both coaches testified, but it was Rob Pickford who struck the decisive blow for the hosts with his first touch having been introduced as a 78th minute substitute.

It was cruel on the visitors, but probably what the neutral wanted for the sake of the battle for the Priaulx Cup.

'All credit to Vale Rec. They came here, battled well and both sides were pretty even,' said Glyn Smith, who took charge of Saints in Colin Fallaize's absence.

'In essence, I think a win for us is a little flattering and Rec made us work hard until the end.'

His opposite number Phil Corbet echoed his sentiments.

'We had a nice mix of football and direct play and with a bit of luck and some better finishing, we could have come away with something and perhaps even more than a point,' he said.

The visitors certainly had the lion's share of the first half despite playing into the wind towards the clubhouse goal end.

They were almost gifted the lead in the opening five minutes when Aaron Gallie headed Mark Ramsden's cross against his own post and the Rec skipper continued to enjoy plenty of space down the right flank.

He also set up a chance for Jamie Gauvain, who could not keep his shot down when at full stretch, before David Hooper fired a left-foot volley straight at Nathan Pattimore.

Nick Edmunds had Saints' best chance of the opening period, having been released on a counter-attack by Chris Le Noury, but the striker rifled his effort just past the angle of the woodwork.

Still Vale pressed with Ramsden finding the side-netting with a well executed half-volley while at the end of a neat move which cut through Saints, Hooper snatched at his shot under pressure from Jamie Dodd.

After such a first half in which the green-and-yellows had been the more likely to score, there was an inevitability about the way in which Saints took the lead only eight minutes after the turnaround.

The Rec defence went Awol after they had seemingly cleared the danger from a corner and Jason Winch picked out Le Noury who had all the time in the world to control the ball on his chest and beat Jody Bisson.

Much to their credit, Vale's response was excellent and they were level within five minutes from the penalty spot.

Gauvain, still in the bottom of the Youth One age group, was nerveless with his kick, sending Pattimore the wrong way after Gallie had clattered into John Rihoy.

Ben Coulter thought he had restored the lead with a quarter of the match remaining, but the flag was up as his header hit the back of the net.

With time running out, Smith chucked on Pickford - the only regular squad member on the bench which also included coaches Trevor Allan and Graham Chester as named substitutes.

He made his impact immediately as Rec were once again severely punished for a lapse in concentration.

The ball came in from the Saints' left, Edmunds just beat Bisson to the ball and Pickford forced it home.

Try as they might, Rec could not respond a second time.

Smith, who was without Dom Heaume, Kevin Graham, Chris Chamberlain, Charlie Pinsard, Richard Herpe and Liam Roffey to name but six, was somewhat embarrassed to call the substitution a masterstroke on his part.

Corbet has been pleased by what he has seen in the last couple of Rec games - this one and the win over Rangers.

'We have got a decent blend of young players and experienced players,' he said.

'We gifted them two goals with a couple of bad defensive errors, but other than that I don't think Jody had a save to make.

'Jamie Gauvain looked sharp up front and the same with David Hooper in midfield, but I thought Lee Ogier was immense for us. His aerial presence gave us a dimension that I don't think I have ever had before in a team.'

* THERE was a brace for Dave Rihoy and Marc McGrath as top hammered bottom 8-2 on Saturday at the Track.

However, Rovers did take the lead against Bels and also held them 2-2 at one stage before the Priaulx League leaders stepped up a couple of gears.

The other goal scorers for the hosts were Brent Marquand, Scott Bradford, Joby Bourgaize and Billy Page.