REPORT - Quorn 4-1 Boldmere St. Michaels
By Kurt Barnes
Quorn strolled to 4-1 win against a mid-table Boldmere St. Michaels side on Saturday afternoon. Cain Noble continued a rich vein of form with a brace and Paddy Webb scored his tenth of the season in his first significant action since his three-month injury layoff. Player/Manager Ryan Beswick was also on the scoresheet, his eleventh goal in 22 appearances for the Reds this season.
Boldmere started the fast, forcing an early corner, but it would be their only highlight of a first half that saw the Mikes dominated. Quorn’s first opportunity of the afternoon came on five minutes when Luca Alonzi was fed the ball and raced down the right hand side, whipping in a fantastic cross that was put agonisingly wide by Noble.
The Reds had found their stride, and soon it was Jordan Clarke’s turn to have a shot, but he snatched at his effort and the ball sailed comfortably wide. Zac Goodson was so unlucky not to score a wonder goal on the 24th minute when he connected with the ball sweetly, drawing an excellent save from Jonathon Brown. Quorn wouldn’t be denied though, and Noble tapped in the resulting corner at the far post to break the deadlock.
Whilst they had all of the pressure, the Methodists had to wait until the 43rd minute before adding to their lead. Noble was very unlucky not to have scored a second goal, forcing another fine save from Brown, but Beswick immediately struck with a shot that was too powerful for Brown who, despite getting a hand to the ball, wasn’t able to keep it out.
After an electrifying 45 minutes, Quorn looked off the pace to start the second half, allowing Boldmere a lifeline. A good cross into the area from the visitors saw Jordan Gough, unluckily, heading into his own net. This goal served as a warning to Quorn who switched it back on, playing with more purpose going forward. Brown was called into action with another fine save in the 67th minute and had make a superb low block from Webb.
Quorn’s response saw a late double to ease any concerns of a Boldmere comeback. Webb’s first goal after coming back from injury was a superb one, driving in on the left side of the box and firing a rocket high into the net past a despairing Brown. The Reds didn’t have to wait long for another goal and soon they were 4-1 up when Noble got his second goal of the afternoon. A slick one-two with Webb saw the midfielder in behind the defence, and able to slide past Brown.
A superb performance from the Reds pushes them to the 70 point mark, easily surpassing their total from last season, which was good enough for a playoff place. Next up for Quorn is a trip to AFC Rushden & Diamonds who, after coming within minutes of causing an upset at Farley Way earlier in the season, now find themselves scrapping near the foot of the table. The Methodists will be looking for another valuable three points to take them closer to the title and mark a 14th away win in a row.