Saturday the 15th April a day when we had to get the minimum of a draw, but ideally a win from our last fixture of the season, so to put some pressure on teams below us to get something from their remaining fixtures.
Performance wise, we have to say that we saved the best for last.
We called on the players to go for it, from the off, and this is exactly what we got, against a side who still had the eye on promotion, and who beat us 4-0 earlier in the season.
We were creating chances from the start, and were dominant in possession, so it was no surprise when Ben Brooker broke their offside trap, and was 1 on 1 with their keeper, his shot was parried, but only to the supporting Liam Gent, who slotted home.
It soon became 2-0, then 3-0, as they could just not handle our pace and movement when we were attacking. Both goals taken well by Ben Brooker.
3-0 up at half time. We spoke about the importance of not conceding, early in the 2nd half, and if we could get through the first 20 mins we should win the match. This is exactly how it panned out, we had a few scares from their set pieces, but could of easily had another 3 ourselves.
The game finished 3-0, due to a fantastic team effort.
A mention has to go out to the players. Rob Mansfield had an excellent game, and this season has added a level of consistency to his game, Ben Turner who has been tremendous all season, saved probably his best performance for last, Sargy, on his 38th birthday rolled back the years and snuffed out their best player, and also found time to sting the goalies hands on a couple of occasions with some decent strikes. Ada James who since moving to sweeper has been so important to the team, was his usual calm and concentrated self, seeing a lot of situations before they actually arose. Dave Hymers text me during the week saying he owed the team one, and he did not disappoint, proving that on his day, when he is focused on the job in hand, he is one of the best centre halves in local football.
Our midfield on the day had an average age of 19. But played beyond its years. Liam Gent who seems to have been around ages but is only 20, played great, getting the all important first, but a shame his season has been disrupted by a ongoing hamstring problem. Chris Ells (17) an excellent addition to the club, has had a great first season, chipped in with 5 goals along the way and works the flank tirelessly. In centre midfield, Rob James (17) started his first game, and played very well, has showed great potential in the games he has played, and hopefully will be around next year. Marc Wood (21) played fantastic again, in fact I cannot remember him having a bad game this season, his consistency for a youngster is tremendous, and on top of this has been an ever present all season, our only one. Since the reserves finished we have had the services of Ben Brooker, and he has shown he knows where the back of the net in getting 4 in 5 games. At the moment he has the shirt for next season. Alun Evans was our other striker, and he had a brilliant game, his hold up play and vision was fantastic and was instrumental in most of the good things that happened today. The subs of Tom Gent, Rob Cornish and Steve Adams all played their part as well.
All in all a great win, due to tremendous team effort.
If this Team could stick together, with the addition of some experienced heads, the future of Saturday football, for both sides, is looking good.
Squad:
R MANSFIELD
N SARGENT
B TURNER
A JAMES
D HYMERS
C ELLS
L GENT
R JAMES
M WOOD
A EVANS
B BROOKER
R CORNISH
S ADAMS
T GENT.