Outdoor Agony for Carton As His Ankle And Run of Victories Give Way

It was all change for F&O this week. An unfamiliar day and time of the week and with 3 players with just 1 cap between us, anything was possible.

It certainly felt cold on arrival as the pampered F&O stars have become accustomed to the luxurious conditions of King Alfred.

With Matt Green going to BACA we started a little bit late.

Pretty even to begin with, with Skins enjoying more possession and territory but Bibs possibly having the best chance in the early stages.

A real turning point occurred around 18 minutes when win machine Carton went down with no player within 3 yards of him. You could hear the injury so many feared the worst, luckily the diagnosis isn't too bad and Carton made his way of to a standing ovation from the players and the lads playing frisky on the pitch next door.

The game changed at this point with Bibs looking to soak it up and stay disciplined with Skins if anything dropping off in terms of intensity.

Bibs were keeping the ball well when they could and springing forward on the counter.

Chances were falling at regular intervals and John the Hat who was leading the line well without much support had most of the best Bibs chances.

Skins were starting to feel anxious and Curry was demanding they upped their work rate.

They had a good spell towards the end of the first half but West who was getting through a lot of work on pitch also put in a strong 10 minute stint in goal.

Disappointingly for Skins despite their numerical advantage they didn't create any clear cut opportunities and were largely reduced to crosses from out wide as Bibs looked to funnel them in field.

Half time and a quick turn around. Within a minute Bibs had two great chances to break the deadlock but couldn't find a finish.

They were punished soon after with Green moving into striking role found time to finish bottom corner for 1-0.

Skins refused to give up and a fine goal saw West find Hussain on running a'la Michael Thomas Anfield 89 and he finished past Luis for 1-1.

Not too long after the turnaround was complete with West bundling home from close range after an almighty scramble.

There was still plenty of time left in the game and it really was anyones game at this point.

Voss was getting into some great position but his finishing let him down after a lengthy break from F&O.

In the end Bibs pressure paid off. Luis done really well to keep the ball alive by beating Mitchell to his punch by heading across the goal. West tried his best to hook the ball clear with Curry lurking but his attempt smashed the cross bar and went in.

Unfortunate for West who was having a great game in midfield alongside Whitey.

Harry still watching with his swollen ankle was praying Bibs could keep his winning run going and they were giving as good as they got as the game reached the final 20 minutes locked at 2-2.

Another cruel blow for Bibs was when Green's shot deflected in of Luis Gil for 3-2.

Not long after Hussain got caught in possession and Chaz rifled home and surely that was game over.

Bibs kept coming and Hat forced Green into a great save with his legs but eventually Hat got his goal with 5 minutes to go and spark a frantic finish.

There was controversy as Kev's watch seemed to momentarily stop working and the little defender seem to add on an eternity of stoppage time. Green was busy in goal and Bibs also had opportunities where they couldn't hit the target. In the end Curry made sure by smashing the ball out of play to complete the victory.

A fine game which had a little bit of everything.

MOTM Chaz A controlled midfield display from the veteran, also scoring the crucial fourth to win the game