Our last game of the season was a midweek match up with a side we had beaten a couple of weeks ago and we came into the game having played our best football of the season on the way to three straight wins. However midweek games are always problematic for managers as you never really know what sort of side you’ll be putting out until just before kick off. Though we were able to put out a full strength side, other than Dom missing in goal.
We started the game really well, getting the ball down on an uneven playing surface. The opening 20 minutes were end to end, with both keepers launching the ball into the opponent’s half. As a team we defended very well during this period, with the back four making numerous good tackles and the midfield five breaking play up well. On such a small pitch space was at a premium, but our midfield continued to play a neat passing game whenever the opportunity arose. From dead balls Mark’s aerial strength was a constant threat. After half an hour we worked a good opening for Mark and he broke unopposed into their box, before drilling the ball past the keeper at his near post. The Hilberts then had a cross that was narrowly missed at the far post and a couple of other half chances.
At half time there was very little to say, as we had taken our recent rich vein of form into today’s game. The second half began in much the same way as the first. After 15 minutes Yacine had a great chance to put us two up. When one on one with the keeper he decided that an intricate lob was the better choice, rather than following Mark’s lead and simply smashing the ball past the keeper. Had this gone in the opposition may well have dropped their heads, as they did two weeks ago against us. Unfortunately shortly after this they equalised when Garry was only able to deflect a low shot onto the inside of the post. This gave them a lift and only a fine save from Garry prevented us going behind. However from the resulting corner a good header from their centre forward put them in front, despite the valiant effort to clear the ball on the line from Luke Hattle. They went three up shortly after, when given a free kick on the edge of our box for handball. The free kick should have gone our way, as the hand ball only occurred because Kevin was pushed over by their player. We showed our naivety when as Garry was setting his wall, no one was stood on the ball and their player coolly finished into the bottom corner. With 15 minutes to go this could easily have turned into a rout, but we composed ourselves again and competed well for the remaining minutes.
We finished the season 7th out of 11 teams. However we dropped 12 points to the bottom 3 teams. With these points we could well have been looking at a top 4 finish, which is well within our capabilities. Maybe next season will be better?
Finally a thank you to those people who have helped out this season. In particular Robin for running the line on numerous occasions, when we didn’t have enough players to provide one and Dean for running the side when Andy and I were unable to do it.
Team:
G.Knight
L.Drury
N.Edwards
L.Hattle
K.Waterman
A.Donaldson
M.Edwards
M.Rice-Tucker
L.Smith
Y.Marouani
M.Wyles
Subs:
R.Fothergill (for Y.Marouani)
C.White (for L.Drury)
S.Waterman (DNP)