Nailers secure first home win

Belper had gone five games without recording a victory at the Marstons Stadium so far this season, something that all the players would have been desperate to put an end to.

This fixture saw Jordan Ball and Louis Keenan return to the Marstons Stadium for the first time since they left Belper Town earlier in the season.

Loughborough looked promising whilst in possession early on as they moved the ball around comfortably and looked to break down the Belper defence on a number of occasions.

This soon paid off for them as Tom Waumsley opened the scoring midway through the first half. A low ball from Lavell White somehow strolled past two Belper defenders to find Waumsley who tucked away with ease to give his side the lead.

Just before the break, things began to look up for the Nailers as Loughborough were reduced to 10 men, Danny Brain was seen to be pulling Ruben Wiggins-Thomas away from the ball whilst he was one on one with the goalkeeper, the referee had no option but to show Brain a red card.

The Nailers started quickly as they came out for the second half, this led to Alex Steadman earning the Nailers a penalty as he was brought down in the box.

Ruben Wiggins-Thomas stepped up to take the penalty but the goalkeeper saved it with ease, the rebound fell to Wiggins-Thomas but his second attempt was even worse as he blazed it over the bar from close range.

Then came the biggest turning point of the game as Loughborough Dynamo skipper Chris Gray, who had received a yellow card in the first half for dissent, received a second yellow after a challenge that referee felt was worthy of another card, leaving Dynamo with only 9 men on the field.

The Nailers began to attack at will, with many players committing themselves forward to get themselves an equalizer.

It took a superb through ball from Laurence Constable, who had just entered the field of play at this point, to help the Nailers get onto the scoresheet. Constable's excellent through ball picked out Graves who finished the chance coolly, he showed his jubilance as he celebrated with great passion.

The Nailers wasted no time as they took the lead just two minutes later, an excellent Will Dennis cross found Jonathan Williams in the box, his side foot volley screamed past the goalkeeper to give the Nailers a 2-1 lead.

This opened the floodgates, as a late Ruben Wiggins-Thomas brace settled the game and guaranteed all three points for the Nailers.

The first came as Wiggins-Thomas went around the keeper before tucking away into the goal, this coming before a superb ball across the box from Alex Steadman gave Wiggins-Thomas the easiest of finishes to get his second of the game and his ninth of the season.

Loughborough then received yet another red card, this one coming after the whistle as Liam Sharpe confronted the referee at the end of the game and seemingly made comments that the referee feels he shouldn’t have.

This victory sees the Nailers rise to 11th in the table as they sit just four points off of the playoff places.