We approached Sunday's game knowing that it would be one of our toughest games of the season, as our opponents early results indicated that would be a capable side. The unusual kick-off time of 10.15 was advertised, but having been assured by a senior member of the club hierarchy that this would not be the case, we were astonished to be berated by the referee for not having the match form filled in by 9.55!
As last week, we began well & should have been ahead early on, but missed two or three simple chances and as often happens, paid the price when a long ball caused confusion in our defence & they took the lead. We continued to press & played some excellent football, the passing & movement being very good,but we failed to convert our domination into clear cut chances.
Again, we were punished when we were caught in possession on half-way & they broke away & scored. This was very harsh as we had been by some distance the better side. To our credit, no heads went down & the pattern of play continued, with us on top & the opposition having very little of the ball. We finally got some reward after good work from Lewis down the right, his low cross finding Ross, who finished at the far post. So we reached half-time 2-1 down & were confident we could turn the game around in the second half, the team talk emphasis being on improving the quality of our delivery into the box.
Encouragingly, the second half continued as had the first & we drew level, after Luke H linked well with Rishi & in similar fashion to the first goal, his low cross from the right was smashed into the net by Ross.From here, it appeared that we must go on & win the game,as they were tiring & getting increasingly frustrated. Unfortunately, from one of their infrequent moves they won a free kick just inside our half. Again the long ball caused confusion & we conceded a very sloppy goal. We continued to press for the rest of the game but were unable to get another equalizer.
This was a game we deserved to win & there were some excellent individual performances from in particular Nat, Luke S & Matt. Team play was also impressive & although we tired a little in the second half,our attitude & commitment against a fairly physical team was to be commended. Improvement must be made defensively, where individual errors proved costly & in attack,where a more patient & less hurried approach will prove productive. We can take heart in that we proved that we can play our game against one of the better sides in our division but we must learn to kill games off when we get the opportunity.
Team:
J.Ramskill,
L.Hattle
L.Smith,
N.Sargent,
N.Edwards,
L.West,
M.Rice-Tucker,
N.Twiggs,
R.Taylor,
R.Patel,
R.Stanton.
Subs
T.Lowe, (for L.Hattle)
S.Weller (for N.Edwards),
T.Bayne (for L.West>