Matt Evans made two changes to the side that lost 3-1 to Newark Town at the start of the month, with Joe Wilkinson and new signing Oliver Skinner coming in to replace Will Hollingsworth and Andy Whalen.

Neither side truly got into the game to begin with, until Sleaford were given a penalty after Josh Parker was pulled to the ground by a Kimberley defender. With Ben Robson stepping up for it, goalkeeper Ben Alsop did brilliantly to get down to his left and paw it away.
Robson tried to make up for his spot-kick despair, hitting a volley from long range, which narrowly went over the bar. Josh Parker had an effort shortly after, but it curled high and wide of the target.

Kimberley managed to find the lead from a corner just after the half-hour mark, which was headed in superbly, beating Harrison Leech and the defender on the line. In the aftermath of the goal, Leech was sin-binned after approaching the referee in protest to the way he was marked around the goal. Clayton Wilkinson stepped up and went in goal to cover Leech, pulling off some good saves in the process. However, one of his saves was parried into a Kimberley attacker, who put it past Wilkinson shortly after.

For the remaining five minutes of the first half, Sleaford fought and stayed professional, not allowing their heads to drop. They ultimately couldn’t find a foot back into the game, however.

The second half started with a penalty for Kimberley, who were awarded a spot-kick of their own after Leech caught the man whilst trying to reach out to get the ball. Finlay Ryden stepped up to it and converted coolly. Shortly after, Kimberley were sent down to 10 men, when Matt Moffatt was deemed to have gone in dangerously on Wilkinson, causing unrest from the Sleaford players.

The Greens fought harder to try to get into it from here, throwing themselves at the game to try to get back into it. Lewis Greenfield had an effort towards goal after good skill, but it was well saved by Alsop. Late on, substitute Andrew Whalen had a header towards goal, but it was well saved by Alsop again.

Late on, the match went from bad to worse as Kimberley netted their fourth of the game, catching Sleaford out whilst they attacked hard, with Paul Johnson hitting an effort towards goal, into the side netting. The game was long gone from here, and Sleaford’s hard work couldn’t get them anything from the match.

Next up for the Greens is a home tie against Ashby Ivanhoe, set to be played on Saturday, March 29, a 3pm kick off.

Written by Finley Smithson