Greens’ boss Matt Evans made two changes to the side that beat Ashby Ivanhoe 1-0 last time out, with Josh Parker replacing the injured Lewis Greenfield, and Jake Thompson making his first start for Town, in place of the absent Harry Gibbons.

Sleaford started the stronger of the two sides, as they were more dominant in possession, pushing further up the pitch in a very stop-start half. Melton created the first real chance of the match, however, with a cross swung in that bypassed the Sleaford defence, only for the striker to be unable to reach the ball. The Greens responded with a cross of their own, as Sam Greenwood whipped an inch-perfect ball to the head of Josh Parker, who hit it narrowly wide of the post, much to the despair of the travelling fans. Greenwood crossed another ball in just five minutes after his first. This time, his cross found the head of Thompson, who headed it even closer to the post, the golden opportunity of the first half.

Towards the end of the first half, the Pork Pie Army started to come into the game more, as a first shot was well saved by Harrison Leech, before a rebound was blocked by Jake Henderson, and a third effort at goal being blocked brilliantly by Hendersons defensive partner Jonathan Timmins. It was eventually cleared by captain Finlay Armond, and with that the remainder of the half played out goalless.

Just as it was in the first half, Sleaford were on top in the second. They struggled to create anything clear-cut to begin with, but the press of Andy Whalen and Ollie Skinner was enough to test the Melton defence when on the ball. Whalen collected the ball on the edge of the box and danced past a series of defenders until he hit a shot towards goal. It was well saved by the goalkeeper, however, as Melton tried to counter from this.

The home side managed to open the scoring with 20 minutes to go, after a series of nice play moving the ball from right to left across the pitch. The ball was eventually put in the box from the by-line, and it was met on the edge of the six-yard-box by Luther Munakandafa, who wheeled away in celebration.

Sleaford didn’t let the goal get to them, however, as they pushed on to try and find an equaliser to get back into the game. With 10 minutes to go, the referee pointed to the spot and awarded Sleaford a penalty after a defender was deemed to have handled the ball whilst marking Whalen. Up stepped Ashall, who drilled it into the bottom left corner, with the goalkeeper unable to get a strong hand to it.

Melton came close to giving themselves an instant response, as the ball was put across goal in a similar fashion to the opener. Nobody was there to meet it though, giving Sleaford a lifeline. In the dying embers of the match, Skinner did brilliantly to beat the defender and find himself through on goal. However, the defender seemed to clip the strikers legs, as he went to ground. Despite strong appeals from the players, managers and fans, the referee waved play on, as he didn’t feel there was enough in it.

Despite the late momentum and pressure from Sleaford, they couldn’t do enough to secure three points, as they left Leicestershire with a valuable point.

Next up for the Greens is a home tie with Gresley Rovers on Saturday, April 12, scheduled for a 3pm kick off.

Words by Finley Smithson.