A foul day with heavy rain falling for most of the match was the perfect backdrop for an awful display from the Blues, lacking in inspiration and cohesion. An early cross from Calum Fraser was headed a yard wide by James Munson, but on 14 minutes the first real threat came from the visitors, Ferai Kangysai sending in a cross which Wes Burke directed narrowly wide of the post. George Paling, playing an unfamiliar left side role sent a long range effort into keeper Lewis Soal’s arms. Craig Rhodes, one of few Town players who emerged from the afternoon with much credit, pulled off the first of several good saves fingertipping a Tobias Richardson shot round the post, but should have had no chance shortly afterwards, Adam Nelson contriving to shoot five yards wide from five yards out. Attenborough were beginning to dictate things, and took a not undeserved lead on 34 minutes. After Alex Hales had done well to rob Nelson as he looked sure to score, the ball fell to Kangysai, who was brought down by Sam Wilford as he tracked across the area. Burke converted the penalty. Nelson wasted two further chances to increase the visitors’ lead, and Rhodes pulled off two more one handed saves from Kangysai and Burke to keep the deficit to just one goal at the break.
Any hope that things would improve after the break went unrealised, as Town struggled to find any rhythm, the majority of the balls forward sailing into the arms of Soal, who never looked like spilling one. The impressive Kangysai weaved through the defence on 54 minutes but saw his shot fortunately deflected wide. The visitors’ keeper was finally brought into serious action on 72 minutes, acrobatically parrying Fraser’s header from Danny Purves’ cross. Sub Chris Dobbie then produced another header on target, after Paling played him in, but Soal was again equal to it. The Blues were finally sunk on 79 minutes, as a ball forward was latched on to by Scott Pratt who easily beat the exposed Rhodes. The game petered out with no improvement from a Town side which just didn’t seem to have the appetite for the game, one which manager Tony Joynes won’t be too sorry to have missed.