Kirkby FC 2–1 Crookes United: a break in habit

Match report

Let the record show that Kirkby FC, a side who have been collecting draws the way other clubs collect points, finally won one. On an evening when Matchday 17 looked set to produce a standoff between the league's bottom two, they found two goals, a little invention and, extremely out of character, some margin for error.

Crookes took the lead with the match's first clear chance. Aírton Borges-Sant'Ana, who has spent August scoring early and then, it must be said, not much else, rose at the near post from Job Dekker-Bos's corner to make it 0-1 in the 24th minute. It was the sort of goal that usually settles these occasions, because Crookes came to defend something and the something had just arrived.

Kirkby equalised nine minutes later. Anders Holmström, whose habit of scoring inside the opening seven minutes is well documented, instead waited until the 36th, sweeping in Hugh Abbotswick's pass from open play. The timing mattered more than the finish: Kirkby's recent record leans on late rescues, and reaching half-time level rather than a goal down changed everything about how Crookes had to play the second period.

The winner arrived in the 62nd minute, Jovino Aimar-Ríos heading in Forrest Stanforth's delivery. Aimar-Ríos spent the previous week being booked and the week before that laying on goals, so a headed winner represented a tidy consolidation of his various contributions. At 2-1, Kirkby managed the closing half-hour with the quiet competence of a side who have finally remembered what a win feels like.

The table remains unflattering, 19th and 20th separated by a single point, but Kirkby now have a rare commodity in their possession: evidence. Matchday 18 arrives tomorrow, which gives them no time to savour it and, for their supporters, precious little time to worry about whether they can do it twice in a row.