Match Reports

Rope started off brightly today and heading towards the Appleton goal. The ball for the first few minutes was constantly in the Appleton half and it was no surprise when Rope went ahead after a superb volley by Niall Ford 1-0. Appleton refused to surrender and credit to them for the way they battled to make life difficult for the home side- Rope restricted to just one other chance the whole half when Tom Corless hit the cross bar from inside the box. HT 1-0 While Rope had much of the play, they lacked ambition or creativity going forward and time and time again players got in each other's way chasing the same ball. Appleton deservedly drew level with a cross from the right meeting an unmarked striker who placed a beautiful header wide of the keeper 1-1. While Rope went close several times in the second half- their second goal was more than a bit lucky as Cameron Geering did well to get his head to a cross- the ball bouncing in front of the keeper and taking the sort of spin that Shane Warne would have been pround of and totally deceiving the unlucky keeper as it bounced over his head. 2-1 Appleton should have equalised as they ran through the Rope defence but were denied by keeper Callum Spencer who came out bravely at feet. Rope continued to have the lion's share of possesion and chances but without ever looking totally comfortable- they had several chances to score but were again denied by desperate defending and wayward finishing. On the stroke of full time Rope made it 3 as a corner was met with a bullet header by Regan Foy at the back post. FT 3-1 Like last week against Matthiola, Appleton frustrated Rope by hard work and sheer determination- a great team effort which saw them go close to getting their first point of the season. Rope still have a collection of quality players but they are not firing on all cylinders and the transition to 11 a side has been a difficult one. They are still a bit pedestrian at times although today there were at least a few sign of an improvement.