Long Buckby 3 Stotfold 1 There was to be no repeat performance as the Rokermen went down to defeat in Northants on Saturday afternoon. The last time these two teams met – at the end of last season – Stotfold were 4-0 down at half time and then came back t

Long Buckby 3 Stotfold 1

There was to be no repeat performance as the Rokermen went down to defeat in Northants on Saturday afternoon.

The last time these two teams met - at the end of last season - Stotfold were 4-0 down at half time and then came back to draw 4-4 and win the league title.

A depleted Stotfold side were unable to repeat such heroics after finding themselves two goals down in the first 15 minutes.

After heading past his own keeper and wide minutes earlier, Paul Rice headed a corner down on to the upright on six minutes.

Long Buckby then took the lead on 10 minutes when Carl Holmes slid into the middle of the box to divert a low cross from the right.

The home team's lead was doubled five minutes later when a ball on the left was flicked forward for Ben Foster to take into the box and fire in from the middle.

Neither side created much for the rest of the half, Stotfold's only shot coming from a Stuart Lochhead free-kick which was comfortably collected 10 minutes from half time.

Just before the break, Tommy Hull added his name to the injury list after badly twisting his ankle giving Ian Morrison an earlier than expected return to first team football after breaking his ankle in November.

Callum Donnelly took a good touch from Scott Rennie's ball from the right but shot straight at the keeper shortly after the break.

Jamie Gilsenan should have made it three when he dribbled into the box and shot wide but the third did come shortly afterwards when a throw-in was flicked on to Jon Crockett who fired into the top corner.

Callum Donnelly's shot on the turn and Lochhead's free-kick both produced good parries from the Long Buckby keeper Farhad Afandiyev, with headers from Neil Smith and Josh Butina both in good positions not troubling the keeper.

Butina did cause trouble late on when he beat Afandiyev to Rennie's ball forward into the box and was brought down by the former Azerbaijan under-21 keeper, Smith converting the penalty on 89 minutes.

Rokermen: Gillham, Taylor, P Donnelly, Shambrook, Hull (Morrison), Bryant, Rennie, Beckwith, Potasnick (Butina), C Donnelly (Smith), Lochhead.