Steeton 3 Dudley Hill Rangers 2

Steeton got back to winning ways in a game that was more convincing than the result suggests.

Manager Roy Mason again faced selection headaches and was forced into making five changes from the team that was beaten at Littletown the week before.

Lee Thompson came into the side for his full debut and showed why Mason has been tracking him for a while as his surging runs were a feature of the first period in which Steeton dominated.

Lee Reilly, restored to the side following a hamstring injury, was the first to go close, but his shot didn’t have enough to trouble visiting keeper Chris Coup.

At the other end Steeton were rarely troubled, barring long balls that Lee Barker and Sam Rooke were dealing with well.

However it was the visitors who took the lead as Nico Carrucciu broke through and slotted past Wayne Mahomet. But Steeton hit back straight from the restart when Thompson surged forward only to be fouled in the box. Reilly equalised from the penalty spot.

This knocked the wind out of the visitors’ sails slightly and Steeton were looking the stronger team.

Andy Holden whipped in a great ball from the right which Nicky McNally failed to get his head to and Joe Park shot straight at Coup as he looked to lift the ball over him following a great crossfield pass from Jack Richmond.

Steeton went ahead when Andy King fed Reilly who unselfishly picked out strike partner McNally to bury from close range.

Steeton got the second period off to a great start. Thompson picked the ball up from Tim Hird who fed McNally and, with the visitors’ defence appealing for offside, McNally held his nerve and cooly finished from inside the area.

Steeton could have added to their total when McNally crossed from the right and Reilly managed to get on the end of it, only to see the ball trickle agonisingly wide.

With King walking a tightrope following an earlier booking, Steeton replaced him with Ryan Cox and pushed Thompson into a more forward position as Steeton looked to make the game safe.

But they found themselves playing the last 20 minutes with a slender advantage when Dominic Staunton scored the goal of the game when he let fly from 20 yards, leaving the Steeton keeper flat-footed.

Steeton reacted by replacing the tiring Reilly with Aaron Abass and made their final change when Joe Mason replaced Holden.

In the end the three goals proved enough to hand Steeton the points, but they know they will need to be more ruthless when facing sides at the lower end of the table.

Boss Roy Mason said: “It was not our best peformance of the season. But with us being forced into so many changes again, it was good to get the three points on the board. We need to dictate the tempo of the games better, rather than the opposition, as I feel we give our better performances playing at a higher tempo.”

Steeton: Mahomet, Richmond, Park, Barker, Rooke, Hird, Holden (J Mason), Thompson, Reilly (Abbas), McNally, King (Cox).