Central finish season strongly at Boothstown

Manchester Central enjoyed a successful ending to their season with a 2-0 win over Boothstown, concluding their campaign with consecutive away wins.

It was generally a comfortable afternoon for Central who again put on show new faces and new names, who did not disappoint.

Thi-Reece Lenihan picked up from where he left off in midweek, scoring another spectacular strike to open the scoring minutes before the half-time whistle, whilst Dennis Raposo scored his fifth goal of the season and his first since January on the other side of half-time, thanks to a bullet header.

It was also a win that brought a welcomed clean sheet for Central, which was their first since their home win over Boothstown in early March, and a first for Ayodele Ogunsakin, who made consecutive starts for Central after starting against Tintwistle Athletic in midweek.

Chris Tomkinson named four changes to the lineup that started at Tintwistle. Adam Gunel and Dennis Jerome both returned at the heart of the defence, whilst Rory Robertson and captain Ruben Abreu both retained their places at full-back.

Nell Noupoue came back into the side after starting on the bench last time out, whilst both Lenihan and Scott Anderson both kept their spot in the lineup after impressive performances on Tuesday evening.

Nuno-Mendes Delgado was unavailable after scoring against Tintwistle, which saw him be replaced by Raposo, whilst Abolfazl Jadidi kept his place on the right. Jefferson Abreu also started, albeit on the left.

Central made a quick start once again on Saturday, creating the first few openings of the match. First a deep free kick was cleverly knocked down by Raposo who lept well, which fell to Anderson who had a clear shot at goal 15 yards out, but luckily for Boothstown the midfielder horribly miscued his effort wide.

The away side again let another good chance slip after 13 minutes played. A flick on from a throw on the right looks set to fall into the keeper's hands, who however under some pressure spilled, falling to Lenihan who could only stab wide from close range.

A relatively quiet 15-minute period followed where the only action saw an indirect free kick for the hosts fly over the bar. Central were on top however but were struggling to find that elusive goal that would allow them to relax. The Central skipper on the day tried to take things into his own hands, driving through midfield and firing from range, but could not keep his effort down.

However, with just under five minutes to go to half-time the visitors found their breakthrough, and in sublime style.

A long throw inside Central’s half from the left was somehow able to beat Boothstown’s backline, allowing Lenihan to latch onto it. The midfielder instinctively and brilliantly lobbed a spectacular strike from range that dipped over the keeper to give Central a 1-0 lead.

Just seconds before the half-time whistle, Jefferson came close for the first time in the half. A long kick by Ogunsakin put the forward in a race with the centre half, in which Jefferson won and was able to punt an effort at goal, only for it to be blocked by the keeper.

It concluded the action for the half, in which Central were comfortable and deservedly in front. Defensively the away side were completely in control and gave little space for the home side to operate in, whilst it was another moment of magic from Lenihan that made the difference.

His third in two games helped see Central finish their season strongly, whilst Tomkinson would have been pleased to see one of their newer additions make such an impact so early on.

Abreu once again proved himself a leader for this Central side, who for so long did miss more leadership and character in games where things didn’t go as planned. More was to come from Central however, and it didn’t take them long to provide a killer blow.

Just seconds in the visitors could have and should have doubled their lead. The ball was picked up by Jadidi in space inside the box, but with all the goal to aim at, the wide man could only blast over.

Luckily for Jadidi however, Central didn’t take too much longer to take full control of the game. Anderson who has been proficient with his deliveries again produced the goods from a corner, crossing in an excellent ball that landed perfectly onto the head of Raposo, whose header was too powerful for the keeper, giving Central a needed cushion.

It was a long-awaited goal for Raposo who hadn’t found the net since scoring in the rout at East Manchester and one that he certainly enjoyed, showing his delight and perhaps frustration that it had took this long in his celebrations.

Anderson had Central’s last real opportunity of the game just after 55 minutes gone. Abreu clipped a delightful pass that found the onrushing run of the midfielder in behind the Boothstown backline, but Anderson’s first-time flick lacked conviction and was held comfortably by the keeper.

From there on in it seemed Tomkinson’s side were happy to play a more reserved style of football and hold onto their cushion. It also may have been a case of fatigue for Central, who allowed more spaces for the home side to exploit late in the second half.

Both Ruben Lawal and Sultan Kasali made their entrance over the next 15 minutes, replacing Jefferson and Robertson, who was forced to come off due to an ankle injury.

With just 15 minutes to go, Boothstown came inches away from pulling one back in the game, after the number 10 hit a first-time strike that left Ogunsakin planted to the floor, but luckily for the keeper the strike bounced off the outside of the post and wide.

The final action of the 90 saw a flurry of opportunities for the hosts, who somehow were not able to halve the deficit. A mix up between Ogunsakin and Kasali saw the ball drop and fall to the striker who looked destined to score into the empty net, only to be denied by a brilliant block by Gunel.

The block then rebounded out to the edge perfectly into the path of a Boothstown man, whose effort once again struck the post, and was somehow cleared away, leading some to question how Central’s clean sheet was still intact.

It was a chaotic end to a comfortable afternoon for Central, at the end of an inconsistent campaign which both started and ended on a positive note. Consecutive wins to conclude the season will leave a nice taste for Tomkinson and his side, but the aim will be to make significant progress once the ball gets rolling in pre-season.

However, with the introductions of new talent, and a fresh and clean slate to build off, Central can look forward to a more positive and successful season in 2023/24.