Carwick Stanley 3 - 2 Budbury

Key Events:

• 6' Carwick Stanley Neil Scott scores, assisted by Jorge Ramirez
• 22' Carwick Stanley Jorge Ramirez scores, assisted by Faustino Molina
• 60' Carwick Stanley Neil Scott scores
• 79' Budbury Sani Ibrahim scores
• 85' Budbury Marcel Vidal scores, assisted by Jihun Yang

Expected Goals (xG) Analysis: The Gazzetta chance-quality estimate gave Carwick Stanley 3.77 xG and Budbury 2.92. Against those figures, the hosts scored three, a little below their expected return, while Budbury managed two from a similarly generous set of chances. That points to a match with more attacking substance than the final score alone suggests: Carwick Stanley created the greater volume, with 21 shots to Budbury’s 14, but the visitors put 10 of their attempts on target and kept the contest alive by making their chances count late. The hosts’ early goals and third strike offered a substantial cushion; they did not turn the last twenty minutes into a formality.

• No Budbury players recorded a rating of 7.0 or higher.

The balance of the match was not quite as comfortable as the scoreline looked at 60 minutes. Carwick Stanley had the edge in possession, shots, corners and tackles, while Budbury edged pass accuracy and remained dangerous enough to make the hosts defend their lead after Sani Ibrahim and Marcel Vidal found the net. Still, the two late goals did not erase the work done earlier: Carwick Stanley had scored three times before the visitors began their response, and held on to take the 3-2 win. A five-goal afternoon, with the final chapter arriving rather late.