After Saturday’s great result at home against high flying Dudley Town, Paget faced a very different test on Tuesday night against the other Dudley team, Dudley Sports, who find themselves at the wrong end of the table.
On a very heavy surface Manager Steve Walker threw the returning Ryan Tait straight into the action. Paget kicking down the slight slope in the first half had the better of things and David Anani in particular, playing wide on the right, was readily getting the upper hand against Dudley’s left back, beating him at will. For all that though Paget struggled to make the break through and it was not until late in the half that the Bears finally went ahead. Good work from the ever willing Ryan Butler, saw him pick up the ball and send a good cross into the box from the right, where centre forward Rivel Mardenborough produced an acrobatic volley to send the ball into the net.
Half Time 0-1
As the second half got under way Dudley to their credit and despite their lowly position in the league, rolled up their sleeves and started to press and push Paget back into their own half. In fact the Bears were struggling to find any fluency at all on a heavy pitch. It came as no surprise when the pressure eventually told and in a scramble in the goalmouth the Dudley Sport forward was upended. The referee pointed to the spot and up stepped Dudley’s Rossiter to smash the ball high into the top corner, giving Ben Ntiri in the Paget goal no chance.
Paget continued to struggle to find their usual passing game and with minutes left on the clock it seemed the game was slipping away. Jevani Robinson having a fine second half, playing on the left side of a defensive 3, made one superb sliding tackle, with the Dudley forward bearing down on goal.
Manager Steve Walker had sent on both Alex Tesfom and Tim Oyanda to give Paget fresh legs and it was Tesfom who came up with the goods, intercepting a poor pass in the Dudley defence and with pinpoint accuracy releasing Mardenborough through the middle. The Paget man showed great composure and unleashed a fantastic shot from the edge of the box which nestled in the bottom right hand corner of the net, passed the despairing dive of the Dudley keeper.
To put the icing on the cake with seconds of the game remaining another ball through the middle saw Louie Newbold dart into the box only to be upended, with the referee not hesitating in pointing to the spot. Normal penalty take Ryan ‘Kimbo’ Kimerley generously handed the ball to Mardenborough and the Paget man capped off the night with a fierce low drive into the corner to complete his hat-trick and secure all 3 points for Paget.