Bank holiday Monday could not have been any better. It was hot, football was on, and it was a 3:00pm kick off. Unfortunately, the game did not match the vibes as the Blues struggled throughout the game.

Unlike recent results, we were unable to break down the opponents backline until virtually the last kick of the game as Finnerty smashed the ball from close range into the roof of the net giving himself his first goal since signing in the summer.

Brad Munn named an unchanged side to the one that beat Shepshed Dynamo 3-0 last Tuesday.

Lewis King was in the net with Owen Betts, Jayden Cotterill, Gianluca Bucci, and Finnerty in defence.

Connor Pace, James Taylor, and Tristan Thompson-Matthews all filled the midfield positions.

Jahvan Davidson-Miller was our striker with Dexter Walters and James Shaw either side of him.

It was a fast start for the visitors as they hoped to put their loss to Lichfield City behind them by opening the scoring early.

King was forced to make two early stops with one of them resulting in him needing some on-field treatment.

We had our first chance in the 15th minute as Walters let a shot go from range.

The Millers took the lead in the 20th minute as a lofted ball into the box was met by Ashley Chambers’ head.

We almost went 2-0 down 14 minutes later, but their striker put it the wrong side of the post.

Our best chance of the half came through Thompson-Matthews as he was given the ball by Davidson-Miller inside the box. Unfortunately, Tristan placed the ball centimetres wide.

Cotterill was forced off just before half-time with George Atwal replacing him.

King was called into action again before the break as he pulled off a good one-handed diving save.

The second half was a lot better from the lads, they moved the ball faster, tried carving more chances, and kept the ball better.

The visitors began flying into their challenges later causing the referee to start dishing out yellows.

Carlton’s Shea Thomspon-Harris was the first to be booked just before the hour mark.

Khyle Sargent was next to be booked for Carlton in the 76th minute.

Lewis Durow was the last to be booked for the visitors.

Pace had a long shot deflected out for a corner.

Thompson-Matthews whipped the cross in, it was punched poorly away by the goalkeeper, and Finnerty ran onto it and rifled it into the roof of the net.

The final whistle went, and we salvaged a point.

Our next match is against Kettering Town in the first FA Cup qualifying round this Saturday.

Match report: Damion Arnold
Match photos: Jake Smith