Melbourn 1 Duxford United 2MELBOURN hosted high-flying Duxford in a game which saw both teams playing attacking football yet it was a game the referee appeared to ruin with some bizarre decisions.Melbourn dominated from the beginning, with Carl Chadwick

Melbourn 1 Duxford United 2

MELBOURN hosted high-flying Duxford in a game which saw both teams playing attacking football yet it was a game the referee appeared to ruin with some bizarre decisions.

Melbourn dominated from the beginning, with Carl Chadwick finding Kris Watters early on but who could only shoot into the 'keeper's hands, and they felt they had opened the scoring when a deep free kick was flicked on target by the unmarked Chaz Hassan.

The header had appeared to have crossed the line before it was clawed out by the Duxford 'keeper, but the referee did not see it and as Melbourn protested Duxford broke quickly away and score themselves just moments later.

On many occasions this season heads have dropped after such setbacks, but not on Saturday as Melbourn continued to take the game to Duxford.

On the half-hour mark a similar free-kick saw Hassan test the 'keeper and as he parried the ball across goal Carl Chadwick opened his Melbourn account, bundling the ball over the line.

The second half saw much of the same from Melbourn and as midfield brothers Jason and Andrew Gray took hold of the centre of midfield so Melbourn's possession in the opponents half grew.

With 15 minutes of the half gone, Andrew Gray found himself clear from a Watters flick but could only blast powerfully at the 'keeper.

Minutes later a meandering Andrew Morris run was followed by a low cross which appeared to strike a Duxford hand in the box, but the referee again seemed the only person who had not seen it.

As Melbourn pressed, a swift Duxford counter-attack left Ashley Bryan exposed and the sheer volume of numbers on the offensive meant Duxford had enough players up to pass the ball into space and allow their midfielder to slot home comfortably.

Again, Melbourn upped their game and a series of long-throws and corners resulted in a number of excellent saves from the away 'keeper, the most notable of which was a point blank header from Watters that seemed destined to equalise.

With five minutes left the game turned ugly as with Morris down in the box a Duxford defender appeared to kick Morris in the head only for the referee to speak to the player and not act.

Melbourn can take heart from a hard fought game against their unbeaten opponents and should use it as a platform to build from.