Bedford Park, Southport
Scorers: Conkling (1), Hand (1)
In a tough opening fixture & with several players sidelined, Ventura slumped to their first defeat of the season & will be disappointed after having led the game for sixty minutes. The game started brightly for Ventura & they had the better of the opening exchanges with Mike Porter hitting the bar after a good run down the left wing. Defensively solid with Matty Herron again on form, it was looking promising for Ventura until left-back Tony Alty was forced off with an ankle injury. This then forced the side into a re-shuffle which saw Conkling moved to left-back & Lang deployed in midfield. Ventura then took the lead through an unlikely source when Conkling drifted in from left-back & picked up the ball from Palfrey around 20 yards out before hitting a shot into the top right corner. Following the goal Uttley then made a good save at the other end to ensure that Ventura went into the half-time break still on top.
It was no more than Ventura deserved but after the break it was truly a story of two halves. ASM came out in the second half a different team & managed to grab an equaliser after a spell of pressure around the Ventura penalty box. The next ten minutes were not good for Ventura though as they then struggled to get back into the game & leaked another three quick successive goals. The introduction of Mike Hand, injured in the previous pre-season friendly, then helped Ventura find their feet again as he rose to head in Trecharichi's cross. A Mike Porter chance then gave Ventura real hope only for him to drag his shot wide. The final goal for ASM then came when their striker Danny Ball fed his team-mate & he was able to find the net with Ventura furiously appealing to the referee for offside.
Despite the defeat, overall there were some encouraging signs for Ventura, especially after completing pre-season unbeaten. They will no doubt be looking to bounce back on Thursday & really kick the season off by getting three points. Certainly this was as tough a fixture as they will face this season & the physio room is already busy at Bedford Park.
Also, well done to Matty Herron on his MOTM performance against the Scarisbrick.
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