Close Victory Over Rivals

Keswick were straight out of the blocks from the first whistle putting together some slick passing moves that South lakes couldn’t deal with. The first 15 minutes of the game were almost entirely played in the South Lakes half. The best chance to break the dead lock and give Keswick the lead they deserved came when Shaw drag flicked from a short corner, but the chance was squandered as the flick was padded down by the South Lakes keeper and they cleared their lines.
South Lakes began to feel their way into the game as the centre forward received opportunities to run at the Keswick defence, but the Keswick centre back partnership of Mattear and Fennel came away unscathed.
Keswick got the break they deserved when Sloan found Proctor in midfield and beat the Lakes centre back to find himself one on one with the opposing keeper. Proctor's effort on goal was saved by the keeper but was only parried out as far as the supporting McCully who made no mistake in making it 1-0.
The half time whistle blew and Keswick should really have been out of sight, but the score line didn’t reflect the amount of attacking possession and chances Keswick had created.
South Lakes started the second half quickly knowing they had to get a foot hold in the tie, this saw some robust challenges flying in as both midfields fought for supremacy. The umpire judged Sloan to have taken one of these midfield battles too far and he was given a 5 minutes suspension. Keswick adjusted their formation to deal with the South Lakes pressure, as they looked to utilise their one man advantage.
Once Keswick were back to full strength they began to turn the screw on lakes again winning a series of short corners but to no avail. The game changed with 20 minutes left to play when Swanston over appealed a wrong decision by an umpire and was told to leave the field of play indefinitely.
Once again Keswick were down to 10 men and South lakes pushed forward looking for an equaliser, but Keswick utilised their substitutes to rest tired legs and withheld the Lakes pressure.
The game should have been tied up when Proctor found Jackson at back post with a pacey cross, but Jackson couldn’t apply the final touch and the South lakes keeper made a fine save.
The final exchanges were end to end with both teams looking for a goal, some fine defending by man of the match Wilson saw all 3 points head back with Keswick to the North of the county.