After the poor performance in our last fixture against Penshurst we went back to basics against the league leaders. The side was set up, so as to make us far harder to break down. The downside being that it would be tougher to create our own chances. The back four were instructed to concentrate solely on defending and to forget about influencing play higher up the pitch. Kevin returned to midfield and took up the holding role, which would give the defence the cover that was lacking against Penshurst. Fraser came in on the right for his debut, when one of our players failed to show up. I should have released that a text response confirming availability of “I should be there” actually means I couldn’t give a sh*t about letting you and my team mates down or showing you any common courtesy what so ever!
The first half was played out almost entirely with us on the defensive, with Invicta dominating possession and putting us under a lot of pressure. Generally we defended very well, with the odd mistake here and there and us riding our luck a little when their forwards lacked a little composure in front of goal. With 5 minutes of the half to go we took the lead with our first meaningful attack and totally against the run of the play. A neat interchange of passes found Yacine 25 yards out, with his back to goal and a defender marking him. In one movement Yacine received the ball, turned, nutmegged the defender, before waltzing round him, to leave him one on one with the keeper. The finish more than matched what had proceeded, as he calmly curled the ball into the bottom corner. This was met all around the pitch with stunned silence, as both sides couldn’t believe we were ahead!
At half time more of the same was asked for, although it was noted that we needed to retain possession a little better.
In response to being a goal down Invicta brought on one of their better players. Why he wasn’t in the starting eleven was baffling. Maybe their manager has been looking at Rafa Benitez’s squad rotation system a little too closely? The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with us defending most of the time and our attacking players feeding off scraps. Midway through the half they equalised when ex-Pembury player Mark Faulkner scored. If Invicta thought we would cave in they were very much mistaken, as within 10 minutes we were back in front. A fine corner by Jamie was met with a powerful header by Mark, who was outstanding throughout. Invicta came back at us, but we were easily dealing with their attacks, which were becoming more desperate. They then brought on two more players, one a forward and the other in midfield. The midfielder must be related to Hymers in some way, as within a number of minutes of coming on, he was getting everybody’s back up, including some of their players. Lewis then decided that a bit of showboating was required. He received a pass near the half way line and felt that a Cruyff turn was called for. He then proceeded to tie his legs into a knot that a boy scout would have trouble undoing, before eventually tripping over and heading the ball as he hit the ground. With 15 minutes disaster struck when a low cross slipped through Garry’s hands, to present their centre forward with a tap in. With 10 minutes to go Invicta took the lead. Two quick bookings followed for Kevin and Nick F. One deserved, one not. Kevin did what everyone else wanted to do (including their centre forward) and took out their cocky substitute. Nick made a perfectly good tackle. With only a few minutes to go we actually had our best spell of attacking play, when we stayed in their third of the field for more than a minute. Another corner saw us almost snatch a deserved equaliser. Again it was a fine header from Mark, only this time it crashed against the bar.
All in all a tremendous effort from all 11 players. Invicta won’t have many tougher games all season and if we can continue to show this level of commitment and application, we will beat opposition inferior to Invicta.
Team:
L.Drury
G.Knight
N.Edwards
S.Waterman
N.Forward
F.Gallin
K.Waterman
M.Wyles
C.White
Y.Marouani
J.Bush
Subs:
B.Turner (DNP)
D.Jacquin (DNP)