After last week's thoroughly disappointing performance the Saturday Reserves put in a committed performance on Saturday and were extremely unlucky to come away with nothing.
A change of formation back to a more familiar 4-4-2 was introduced in an attempt to tighten things up defensively. Without a first team game, Southborough strengthened their side with a number of first team players and started the stronger. They dominated the opening 15 minutes and we showed a lot of character to come through this period unscathed. The only Pembury action of note during this opening period was Iggy Crouch's welcome back to Pembury old boy Tim Page. A well timed "tackle" aimed at sending Tim over the hedge and back down the by-pass, was well worth conceding a free kick in a dangerous position. For the rest of the half we more than matched the opposition, the centre midfield pairing of Steve Lindsey and Kevin Waterman were starting to win us the lion's share of possession and we were constantly catching them square when using Ben Brooker and Mark Wyles' pace and movement up front. With better finishing we could have been 2 or 3 up. That said right on half-time we received a huge slice of luck when good play from the opposition resulted in their centre-forward hitting the inside of the post, with Kevin Waterman, now playing at centre-back following a nasty ankle injury to Tony Crouch, clearing the rebound before their other forward could pounce.
The second half continued in much the same way as the first with Pembury enjoying slightly more possession, but wasting the chances created. Further injuries to a couple of the older heads resulted in us having a very youthful side for the remainder of the game. The opposition had introduced a couple of quick young forwards and were starting to look more dangerous. Their goal came with about 15 minutes left when a quick break led to a cross from their left, which the centre-forward neatly dispatched despite the valiant efforts of goalkeeper Dominic Lanaway. The rest of the game was played out with us playing a bit too much long ball football and not really looking like grabbing a much deserved equaliser.
In conclusion a great performance which didn't get the result it deserved. The defence was well marshalled by Garry Knight. Steve Lindsey had an excellent game in midfield, providing the energy and drive so lacking the previous week. Matt Rice-Tucker made a very encouraging debut for the club. If we can put together this week's defensive improvements with the previous weeks' goal scoring I have no doubt that better results will be forthcoming.
Team:
D. Lanaway
T.Bowyer
T.Crouch
G.Knight
I .Crouch
T.Gent
K.Waterman
S.Lindsey
R.Taylor
B.Brooker
M.Wyles
Subs:
J.Austin (for T.Crouch)
M.Rice-Tucker (for K.Waterman)
L.Drury (for I.Crouch)