Gunners earned a hard fought victory against an improving Loxwood Res side.
Gunners made their usual sluggish start and Loxwood created some early pressure with a couple of breaks down their right wing.
Gunners took the lead after a winning a tackle in midfield in which Paul Stout went down injured, some of the Gunners players stopped but to their credit Loxwood played on as the whistle wasn't blown, slipped the ball to their forward who finished from close range with a driven shot.
Loxwood also had a close couple of chances and hit the bar on one occasion.
Gunners managed to get back into the game when Iain Peer received a ball on the edge of the box and dribbled across goal when he was fouled and a penalty was awarded which Iain subsequently converted.
Gunners did have another good chance when Richard Alderton made a good break down the left wing and shot across the face of the goal.
The half time score was 1 - 1 and Gunners display in the first half was below average.
In the second half, Gunners made a tactical change by introducing Stuart Bye into a three man defence and pushed Matt Rees into midfield.
Gunners play was a little better and the team created a few more opportunities. They took the lead when Paul Clarks shot was deflected into the path of Iain Peer who stroke the ball home and the gave themselves a cushion when Dave Owen was kicked up in the air in the box and Iain converted his second penalty of the game.
With this extra goal, Matt Rees dropped back into defence as Gunners looked to hold this position. Loxwood responded by reverting to what looked like a 3-4-3 formation and they pushed more men forward in search of a goal to get them back into the game.
Fortunately, the Gunners defence were on form today and the team defended well as a whole to deny Loxwood any real clear chances to score.
The final few minutes ran out leaving the final score 3-1 win to Gunners. Overall Gunners performed well defensively, but offensively, the team never passed the ball around well and could have played better in this area.
Gunners "Man of the Match" was Paul Marten for a solid game in defence.
Match Facts:
MOM : P Marten
Goals : I Peer (3)
Team
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