Five Star performance keeps Cardea top

Cardea's home game versus Black Bull was originally scheduled to be played in early January but the pitch was deemed unplayable due to frost. The weather conditions for today's game were in stark contrast as the game was played in warm temperatures and the rain that was forecast never materialised.

Michael Williams and Dale Moore played at the heart of defence with Adam Simons joining captain Daryl Patrick in central midfield, Tom Broughton and Tom Greetham started up top.

There was very little to report in the first half hour of the game as Black Bull created the better chances but the Cardea defence dealt with everything that was thrown at them.

Just after the half hour Cardea created their first chance and nearly took the lead, Simons whipped a free kick into the area from the left wing and Tom Greetham's header struck the top of the bar.

As half time approached Cardea broke the deadlock. Tom Broughton collected the ball on the left and turned past the right back and had a free run on goal. He ran with the ball and his shot was parried by the keeper, Daryl Patrick was the quickest to react and his left foot shot beat the defender on the line.

Patrick's celebration left a lot to be desired, as he ran towards the corner flag he decided against sliding on his knees and ended up just running around the flag!

The half time whistle was blown and despite a slow start Cardea had the lead.

There were no issues with a slow start in the second half. Cardea doubled their lead within 10 seconds of the restart. The ball was passed to Aaron Yeoman from kick off and his ball to the edge of the opposition area was latched onto by Simons and his lob was perfect to beat the keeper and land in the goal.

Cardea were creating chances for fun now and it was 3-0 on 52 minutes. A shot by Simons was blocked and the rebound fell to George Greetham who hit the ball first time on the half volley and, thanks to some poor goalkeeping, the ball ended up in the net.

Just a minute later and it was four. The ball was played to Kynan Bereznyckyj on the left and his ball in was perfect for Tom Broughton to sweep home for his 11th of the season.

As the hour mark approached Ryan Moore produced an outstanding burst of pace to beat the Black Bull defence to a loose ball and worked his way into the area but his shot was saved by the legs of the keeper. From the corner a flick from Williams was cleared off the line.

Daniel Robinson and Billy Thomson were brought on in the second half and nearly contributed to a fifth after 65 minutes. Robinson headed on a clearance and Broughton got to the byline and crossed in to Thomson but his effort went wide of the goal.

Into the last 10 minutes and Cardea were awarded a penalty. A slip in the Black Bull defence gave Tom Greetham a free run on goal, his first shot was saved but the ball came back to Greetham and a handball from the defender took the ball away from the striker and a penalty was awarded.

Penalty taker Yeoman stepped up and confidently sent the keeper the wrong way and scored the goal.

The match ended on a sour note when a bad tackle on Thomson from a Black Bull defender sparked a brawl between Tom Greetham and the Black Bull player and both were sent off and the last 5 minutes was 10 vs 10.

It was another good victory for Cardea, pushed on by man of the match Daryl Patrick. The defence was solid and the quality of the goals scored was very good.

The managers were happy with the result. Craig Robinson said: "First half we were very poor, didn't connect with any passes but at the same time didn't really look like conceding. As soon as we got the first goal you could see the pressure ease and we finished the first half well.

"Scoring inside the first 10 seconds of the second half killed the game off and it turned into a case of how many we would score! 5 was a good return. Shame about the red card at the end but that's Sunday football, wonder if the black bull player has picked his nose up off the floor yet! Onto next weeks title decider."

Kev Webster said: "The two week break was clear to see due to a sluggish start in the first half. But we didn't look under too much pressure and came through some sticky spells in the first half with a 1-0 lead typically driven on by Daz.

"Second half saw a 10 minute spell where all attacks ended in goals which saw us take the pressure off and to blow out the cobwebs! One step closer to the title but we have massive games ahead and we need to be much better in all areas on and off the pitch to ensure we have the success we deserve."

Cardea's next game is the biggest game of the season versus Fenland Police on the 13th April. The game will be played at Werrington.