It has been very rare this season that we have played against a side below us so this Saturday we were in the odd position of expecting the win, which we delivered.
Stand in manager Dean read through the team and the tactics for the day and made us all aware that he would sub any one off if they were not playing well, regardless of the time or score, fortunately this threat did not have to be called in to action as everyone managed a decent performance and we ran out 7-0 winners, a lot of emphasis on the nil as it was our first clean sheet of the season.
The first 10-15 minutes of the game were quite slow as we tried to find our feet abit and as the half went on we grew in confidence and eventually broke them down by some excellent work on the left by Luke Hattle Jnr and he capped of a good run by cutting in from the left and finishing very neatly in the far post. You could see a small amount of pressure lift from are shoulders as we started to knock the ball about with a lot more confidence and it was no surprise when we went 2 up when Matt Edwards ran on to a through ball and finished coolly. Being 2-0 we started to enjoy ourselves and the 3 central midfielders were bossing the midfield and linking up well, and with a fine through ball by Matt Edwards, found Matt Rice Tucker who's shot was saved and the rebound tucked in by Ross who followed up well.
There was still time for one more before half time and some more good work by the midfield pushed Matt Rice tucker out wide and his cross in to the box was headed in by Matt Edwards.
Half time and the teamtalk was the usual for being 4-0 up, Don't slack off, keep doing what your doing and Kev's coming off because the Jobs done.
The first 5 minutes of the second half we sustained a bit of pressure like we expected and then from a freekick just inside their half, a good ball in from Gary Knight was chested down by Mark Wyles and finished by Matt Rice Tucker who admitted afterwards that he may have been offside. If the game wasn't killed off before that point then it certainly was afterwards as we continued to make good challenges at the back and catch them on the break and before long a ball over the top was sliced out by the Goal Keeper and the ball fell to Matt Rice Tucker who from 25yards guided the ball home with another very tidy finish. We weren't quite finished though and Iggy Crouch (on for Kev) thought he would try and get in on the scoring exploits and went on a mazy run (one of those ones that the late Emlyn Hughes used to do where he beats the bloke by giving him the ball and then tackling him) only for him to be hacked in the box, despite the pleading from Dominic in goal the penalty was taken by Matt Edwards to complete the Hatrick.
The rest of the games from then on was just about keeping the clean sheet and there was a sigh of relief (certainly from me) when the whistle blew.
This is the type of game where the report is focused around the goal scorers so it does need to said that as a unit and as individuals the defence where very solid and it has to be said that the majority of our goals came from the defence winning the ball and distributing it accordingly to the midfield, also Mark Wyles did all the ugly stuff needed of a lone striker and was very much part of this good win, as was Dominic in goal who when called upon made a couple of very good stops in the second half and claimed pretty much every cross that came his way.
I put this win down to the fact that this was one weekend where everyone was available and it showed as both Saturday sides had full strength sides out, who knows what next weekend holds but it does show what the Saturdays sides can achieve when people make themselves available, I know the first team did not win but the disappointment shown from a number of their faces shows that they are a team playing well below their potential and hopefully it will click at some point this season where someone in their league is likely to get well beat.
Before I go I would just like to say one more thing, this Saturday was a good performance, it wasn't brilliant but everyone gave an account of themselves that they can be proud of, in particular for the first time this season we looked not only to have confidence in ourselves but also in the players around us as we started to trust each other allot more, and with this came decent finishing with all our chances being taken or coming very close, and the substitutes that came on slotted in perfectly for players they replaced, if we needed a performance on which to build then this was it. Well done everyone involved.
Lewis Drury
The side was as follows (4-5-1)
Team:
D.Lanaway
G.Knight
N.Edwards
L.Drury
L.Hattle
R.Taylor
M.Edwards
K.Waterman
M.Rice-Tucker
A.Donaldson
M.Wyles
Subs:
I.Crouch
B.Turner
N.Forward