Clements Athletic 3 – 0 Staines United

I would tend to worry that talk of a game being a ‘must win’ and the ‘biggest of season’ would add pressure that would have a negative effect on the team’s performance.  However, it seems that the current Clements Athletic squad thrives and performs to their best when this additional pressure is applied.  The proof is the fact that for the second time this season we were the first team to put a mark in the L column of top-of-the-league opponents.  This might also explain why we couldn’t beat the worst team in the league! Both the wins against Lakeside and Staines have been particularly convincing, and we were on top from the start in this game against a team who were obviously technically proficient and good at keeping the ball.  These attributes may make for good viewing, but what I am realising is that few teams (if any) in this league are as effective as Clements at the direct approach, whereby we are always looking to move the ball up the field and put defences on the back foot as quickly as possible.

Sharpy picked a side that, despite missing two first choice midfielders (although one of them was in goal), was set up to attack with Joe making his first start of the season on his Winter return from university and Ryan being given the job of filling H’s boots in midfield.

Subs: lil’ Ryan, Rob, Alex

Prior to this game Staines had the best defensive record in the league, having conceded just 6 goals in 7 matches.  It was therefore surprising to see how easy Dale was finding it cut through their defence, and our top scorer should have added two or three to his impressive tally in the opening 15 minutes.  Staines seemed to be in shock to come up against a team with so much pace and excellent movement up top.

Dale’s performance in the opening quarter would have made him a front runner for MoTM in any other game, but on this occasion he was outdone by the younger Kenyon, whose performance in a less familiar central midfield role was the best by any Clements player this season.  Ryan just seemed to have the ball stuck to his feet, and made the opposition players look silly on countless occasions as he turned them inside out.  His distribution was also superb, and his assist for the opening goal was a key element in making it a contender for goal of the season.  Ryan made himself available to receive the ball from Eye-Ball on the left.  He then ran with the ball diagonally to the right side of the pitch, but instead of playing the obvious ball to Chris, who was running down the flank and dragging out the fullback, Ryan played a perfectly weighted reverse ball into the gap that had now been created. Dale pounced on this early Christmas present and drove the ball past the keeper into the far corner: 1-0.

This goal gave us a massive confidence boost, whilst rash challenges and petulant behaviour off the ball by Staines were obvious signs that Clements’ defence was as dominate as our attack.  It wasn’t long before our excellent play was rewarded with another superb goal.  This time Chris was the provider, as he did really well to keep the ball in play on the right before driving to the bye line and delivering a low cross into the danger area between penalty spot and six yard box.  Liam had timed his run superbly, and bravely stooped to head the ball under pressure into the far corner: 2-0.

The only way Staines looked like they might score was from dead balls, and in general we defended corners well, with Foggy attacking the ball aggressively.  However on one occasion he got it completely wrong and threw himself forward whilst the ball sailed well above his head.  It says something about how well we played, and the high standards we set, that a stand-in keeper should receive DoTD for this misjudgement. To be fair, if Foggy hadn’t received the award for this he would have been nominated for slipping over every time he took a goal kick, and subsequently shouting at himself for doing so.

We didn’t manage to add to our tally or goals in the first half despite creating some excellent chances, including one for Joe (who is yet another hard working quality winger in the Clements squad) who fluffed his lines in front of goal and could only shoot tamely at the keeper from 10 yards.

We continued to threaten in the second half, and whilst the third goal was the obvious way to put the result beyond doubt, we were actually helped to do this by the opposition midfielder, who reacted to a reducing tackle from Jake by throwing a headbutt.  Sharpy might not know the laws of the game inside out, but he knows from plenty of personal experience that you can’t react like that, especially when the referee is the Chair of the Thurrock Sunday League.  Staines were reduced to ten men, and although Jake was punished for his tackle he should get credit (as indeed should the rest of the team) for not reacting and letting the referee do his job.

The game lost a little of its intensity as a result of this sending off, and despite creating plenty of chances, including a good header from Joe that hit the bar, Staines keeper was in fine form and denied us on a number of occasion.  However, he could do nothing to stop Jake’s first goal for Clements as Chris laid the ball back to him following a corner and the big man curled the ball into the top corner from 20 yards.  His corner flag celebration received a DoTD nomination (probably from Foggy): 3-0.

Such is the strength of the Clements squad that a completely new centre back partnership of Alex and Rob was able to slot in with Eye-Ball and Luke seamlessly to preserve the clean sheet, that the defence and Foggy richly deserved for throwing themselves in the way of everything Staines threw at them.  Rob also popped up at the far post from a corner, but was unable to keep his header down.

 Lil’Ryan was the other substitution made by Sharpy, and he nearly made an immediate impact when he broke into the area with the ball.  Unfortunately it bounced kindly for the defender who was able to clear before Ryan could unleash a shot on goal.

You really couldn’t ask for a better Christmas present than 3 goals, a clean sheet and 3 points against the unbeaten league leaders.  Everyone can now enjoyed a well-earned Christmas break, before we return well rested and eager for our first round match in the league two cup – one we are definitely capable of winning.

Eye-Ball

Next game: Sunday 4^th January @ home v Lakeside (Div 2 cup round 1)

Goal Scoring Chart

Clements Athletic 1 - 2 Sparks (Ted Fairchild Cup Round 1)

I'm going to use Sharpy's DoTD winning pre-match speech as motivation for writing this match report, which went something like this: "OK boys, we don't really want to win this game as we'd just have to play AFC Blackshots in the next round and don't have any chance of winning this cup.  So, I'm going to give some of the weaker players a run out."

So in-keeping with this spirit, this is going to be one of my weaker match reports as I don't really want to write it.

Fortunately there was no hard feelings from Sharpy's ill chosen words and the following line up still looked pretty strong to me.

subs: Luke, Chris, Alex, Joe

The opposition were top of Div 2, and had enjoyed an unbeaten season the previous year, so were obviously not a bad side.  However, it soon became apparent that this was going to be a hard game not to win, as we had more than enough to win the game.  Having the pressure of winning removed did have some positive effects, with the Clements players wearing permanent smiles and playing with a freedom that comes with knowing any errors will not result in receiving an ear-full.  We definitely still played to win, and this attitude was epitomised by Eye-Ball who raced back to make a last ditch tackle and put the ball out for a corner when the striker was clear through on goal.  The tackle had to be perfectly timed, as anything else would have surely resulted in a red card.

H was also playing out of his skin following his return to the starting eleven, and it was a real blow to see him have to be helped off following a nasty looking impact on the knee. Hopefully the time off whilst H has a minor op will give ample time for recovery so that he is raring to go in January.

The game was fairly evenly balanced (Robin even balanced the injury count by forcing Sparks's striker off following a fair but firm challenge), and it just so happened that Sparks made the first breakthrough when Clements failed to clear the ball from a corner and it was squeezed home through a crowded area: 0-1.

The response to going behind was spot on, and almost instantaneous.  Sharpy and little brother Ryan had already been linking up really well on the left, and a little exchange of passes was finished with Sharpy lifting the ball into Dale, who was deadly from 8 yards out: 1-1.

We arguably created the better chances to take the lead both at the end of the first half, and the start of the second half.  Sharpy in particular was making a nuisance of himself, and may have opened his account for the season if he had been a bit quicker to pull the trigger on a couple of occasions.  Liam also had the beating of the left full back, and made some excellent advances into the opposition penalty area.  At the other end Webby was excellent in goal, and deservedly earned a number of MoTM nominations.

Webby could do nothing about the goal that gave Sparks the lead when the replacement striker turned inside onto his right foot and hit the ball with minimum power, but perfect accuracy into the far corner: 1-2.

You would have thought this was the ideal situation: we lose the game 2-1 so Sharpy gets the result we want whilst we've still played well, enjoyed the game and made the opposition work hard for their victory.  However, it was a nervy ending as we created a number of good opportunities to equalise with Dale being denied on more than one occasion by the dimensions of the goal and the acrobatics of the goal keeper.  Extra time would have proven a little embarrassing for Sharpy, as it would have meant finishing with ten men as he had already used all three substitutes and Dale needed to leave at 90 minutes to get to work.  Fortunately we managed to hold out for the defeat, and were able to warmly congratulate our opponents on their progress to the next round.

The MoTM vote was dominated by defenders, with Eye-Ball just coming out on top.  It is difficult for me to self-assess why this was, but I imagine it was for volume of tackles, generally being a pain in the backside any time the opposition tried to mount an attack, and even getting a shot (albeit a tame one) on target from inside the box in the first half.  It could also be because we lost, as the only other time I have received this accolade is the only other time we have lost this season.  Oh well, at least the dark cloud of defeat has a silver lining for me.

Eye-Ball

Next game: Sunday 14th December @ home v Staines United.

Goal scoring chart:

Clements Athletic 2 - 1 Thameside F.C.

Johnny and Eye-Ball learned a valuable lesson prior to this game: lower the posts in gently or you may end up covered in muddy water, and smelling like a skunk whose had far too much vindaloo.  Still we had a good laugh about it (except Johnny and Foggy who were busy gagging), and we had no problems with space in the changing room.

The good humour continued right up to kick-off, and the good team spirit was reflected in one of the best footballing performances of the season, to which the score line did not do justice.

Sharpy demonstrated that everyone will be treated the same in this team, and so despite being one of the stand out players this season, H was started on the bench following a couple of weeks away.  Once again players were missing, but Sharpy was still able to name a strong starting eleven.

Subs: Sharpy, Harry

We were determined to get off to a good start in this game, and created a number of chances which should have helped calm those early nerves.  Unfortunately Liam in particular had left his shooting boots at home, and missed a couple of (what were by his standards) sitters. 

Thameside were a far improved side from the outfit we comfortably brushed aside earlier in the season, and were competitive and hard to break down.  When we did get in behind their keeper was on fine form to keep us out.

A frustrating first half nearly ended in us going behind, when a ricochet from a shot landed kindly for the right winger.  However, Webby was quick off his line and smothered the effort to keep the scores level going into the break.

The discussion at half time was positive, and we knew that it was a matter of when, rather than if we would break down the opposition.

Seeing as we were struggling to find the net via conventional methods, Jake thought he would try something a little more flamboyant, and his acrobatic (yes, Jake and acrobatic in the same sentence) not quite over-head kick in a crowded area was hit so sweetly that it would surely have been front runner for goal of the season had it not been for a fine save from Thameside’s keeper.  I think this is the first time I have witnessed a collective round of applause in the Thurrock Sunday League.  It just goes to show that we all appreciate good techers.

By this point we were getting a little worried about where the goal was going to come from, but when you’ve got the Kenyons on the pitch you know something can always happen.  Ryan picked the ball up on the left, and ignored the cries of his brother who had run outside him and instead slalomed his way to the right side of the pitch before slipping a slide rule pass through to Liam, whose cross found Dale unmarked at the back post 12 yards out.  He still had a lot to do but hit the ball into the ground, and right into the corner of the goal to leave the keeper no chance – a fine finish to cap a great move: 1-0.

We really should have pushed on from this point, scored a couple more goals and put the result beyond doubt.  Unfortunately, we instead conceded a sloppy equaliser, when Thameside’s nippy winger was allowed to play keepy-uppy with his back to the goal on the edge of the six yard box, before guiding the ball into the net: 1-1.

With about 10 minutes to go there wasn’t long to find the winner we deserved, and despite the introduction of H and Sharpy in the second half providing extra attacking impotence, we just couldn’t find the net.  In the end we relied on an unorthodox helping hand, as Thameside’s best player (possibly suffering the effect of too much weed) attempted a suicidal backpass, which Dale was alert to and raced clear.  He touched the ball passed the keeper and would certainly have scored had the keeper not brought him down.  The ref had no choice but to send the keeper off, who was commiserated by players from both sides.  Dale dusted himself off, and after a lengthy delay showed nerves of steel to guide the ball into the corner of the net: 2-1.

We had to survive an anxious final five minutes, and Eye-Ball didn’t help the frayed nerves when he read the danger from a diagonal ball into the box and decided he would simply nod the ball into the arms of Webby.  However Webby had other ideas, but his call of “Webby’s ball” was misinterpreted by Eye-Ball as “that’s right Eye-Ball, just nod it back and I’ll do the rest”.  So as Webby rushed out the ball rushed passed him, with the fortunate consequence just being a wasted corner.  Liam was pretty happy about this, as he had been prime candidate for DoTD before Eye-Ball took that honour unanimously.

So we survived to make it successive wins in the league, and 5 out of 6.  Things really are looking good, and it feels like we are growing as a team with every game.  Let’s keep it up, and make sure we are in the mix for the league title come the end of the season.

Robin claimed his second MoTM award of the season for a typically dominate display in defence, with Webby a close second for an overall solid display and a couple of vital saves in either half.

Next game: Sunday 7^th December @ home v Sparks – Ted Fairchild Cup Round 1.

Goal scoring chart

Clements Athletic 4 - 2 FC Deportivo Thurrock

Clements bounced back from last week’s disappointing defeat with a hard fought victory against a Deportivo team who would have been out for blood given our last minute winner last time we met.

It is worth mentioning the dedication and commitment being shown by those in the Clements squad to be available for games.  Exemplars of this spirit include Dale, who organised going into work two hours late so he could play, and Jake, who we learned in the pub on Friday is using his holiday leave to book off Sunday shifts so he can be at as many games as possible.  It just goes to show how much people are enjoying being a part of this squad.  As a result Sharpy had pretty much a full squad to choose from, with just Rob and H missing.  Congratulations to H, who was in Prague celebrating his 21^st birthday.  We can only assume he survived, but obviously have no idea if he’ll recover in time for next week’s game.

Subs:  Lil’ Ryan, Alex, Chris

All the talk of getting off to a good start, and not going behind in the first 10 minutes only partly translated onto the pitch.  Eye-Ball led by example by making a penetrating run from inside his own half, which unfortunately ended in him running out of pitch before being able to get a cross in.  However, despite this early promise we were no better than average in the first half.  First touches were sloppy, and we allowed Deportivo to panic us into misplaced passes and ineffective long balls.  We inevitably went behind when the ball broke nicely for the striker on the edge of the box, and he nonchalantly placed the ball in the bottom corner: 0-1.

Despite our collective under performance, Clements have individual quality that can lead to chances being created from amongst the murky sea of whale crap.  Providing the moment of brilliance on this occasion was Ryan, who had been none too happy with the lack of supply down the left, and so took matters into his own hands.  Faced with two defenders near the dead ball line Ryan dropped a shoulder, showed a turn of pace and made space to cross left footed into the middle.  Waiting there was his big brother Dale, who remarkably found himself with enough time in the six yard box to control the ball, discuss the state of the economy with the goal keeper and complete a Sudoku puzzle before slotting the ball into one of the two gaping holes either side of the goal keeper: 1-1.

Such is the standard we set ourselves that we felt fortunate to be level at the break.  Still we should have been encouraged by the fact that we were level whilst being well below our best.  The second half was a completely different ball game, as Foggy and Jake started to own the midfield and our front four of Ryan, Liam, Dale and Luke (later replaced by Chris) learnt that they could exploit Deportivo’s weakness in the full back areas.  In the meantime Robin and Brian bullied and harassed the ineffective strikers whilst Eye-Ball and Johnny mopped up anything that Webby didn’t collect himself.

Our pressure paid off when Webby collected the ball and thumped it up-field.  He didn’t quite manage to score the goal he has been claiming he will do at some point, but his deep ball was unwisely left by the centre back, who obviously hadn’t learnt from our last meeting that Liam is a poacher who is always on the lookout for a cheap goal.  He subsequently ran on to the ball and knocked it round the out-rushing keeper before thrashing it into the empty net: 2-1.

It was important that we pushed on to put the win beyond doubt, and we did have the opposition on the ropes.  Unfortunately their goalkeeper was having a blinder and denied the Clements players on numerous occasions.  However, his luck ran out when a moment of brilliance, from the older Kenyon this time, saw Dale flick the ball round the defender with his back to goal before having his shot blocked by the keeper.  However, Dale’s persistence saw him manage to hook the ball over the keeper and into the six yard box where Foggy timed his run brilliantly to meet the ball 3 yards out.   I know what you’re thinking, but no, he didn’t miss! In fact to make sure, he followed the ball into the net and took the defender with him: 3-1.

Anything other than a Clements win now would have been a travesty, but a dishevelled and argumentative Deportivo side were given a glimpse of hope when, with half an hour left to go, the defender who had been at fault for Liam’s goal converted a firm header from a corner: 3-2.

With just under half an hour to go this was a real test of our resolve and determination.  I am pleased to say that every player – including those who came off the subs bench – were more than up to the challenge.  Sharpy once again showed his managerial astuteness as he replace a tiring Jake with Alex, whose defensive instinct was exactly what we needed to break up the opposition play and allow Foggy to venture further forward.

With the goal scoring chart being dominated by a few individuals it was good to already have two new contributors in this game, with Foggy getting his first goal and Webby his first assist.  The game was to be put to bed thanks to another unlikely assists contributor, with Rob floating a free kick to the far left side of the penalty area.  Ryan was left unmarked and brought down the ball superbly without missing a stride, and then passed the ball past the keeper into the far corner: 4-2.

This goal capped off a man of the match performance in which Ryan showed the passion and determination both in attack and defence that has made him such a key member of the squad since he joined just over three years ago.  Unfortunately there was no nomination for DoTD, which meant no free drink for Ryan.  A warning to the next DoTD: you might have to buy two beers!

Another week to be proud to be a Clements player.  Maybe last week’s defeat isn’t such a bad thing, as we know what humiliation feels like now, and should be extra determined to avoid feeling that again.  More of the same next week please.

Eye-Ball

Next game: Essex cup third round @ Home v Iceni Wanderers

Goal scoring chart

Mustang 3 - 2 Clements Athletic

This was a result that none of us expected, and although we may have been a bit overconfident prior to this match against our winless, bottom of the league opponents, it is hard to be too critical of a performance where Mustang took three of the four chances we gifted them, and we only managed to convert two of the dozen or so that we created.  In a way this result may do us some good, as perhaps we were getting a little carried away thanks to our early success, but we can be in doubt that we can not afford to be below par in any department and expect to still win games in this league.

With H and Jake missing Sharpy chose to start with Chris in the middle, whilst Brian came back in for Luke with Alex filling the hole in the centre of defence which Foggy had occupied the previous week.

Subs: Rob, Johnny

The game couldn’t have got off to a worse start, as we found ourselves a goal down before anyone on our team had even touched the ball.  A hopeful ball over the top was misjudged by Alex, and the forward gratefully slotted the ball past Webby: 1-0.

We needed an immediate response, and Foggy will be thankful that his dad wasn’t watching his son putting in a bid for miss of the season.  Instead it was the usually reliable Ryan –who you would have put your house on scoring – blazing over from three yards with the empty net at his mercy.  This unfortunate miss, and another effort that rattled the crossbar when a simple side foot into the corner would have sufficed, earned Ryan the DoTD award.

To rub salt into the wounds we then found ourselves two behind, when we didn’t move out from a cleared corner as a unit, and Mustang’s makeshift striker found himself with time on the edge of the box to lash the ball inside the near post.  Webby did try to convince the net that the ball had hit the side netting, but it actually went a good foot inside the post (nice try Webby): 2-0.

We really couldn’t afford to let our heads drop, and we had already shown that we could get into their box regularly enough to create chances.  As it happened our first goal came from a free kick about 30 yards out on the left after Foggy had been tripped.  Ryan’s floated cross to the back post eluded everyone and went in off the underside of the crossbar: 2-1.

The scores were then level when Dale slipped the ball through the Liam, who may have been offside but did what all good strikers do by finishing first and worrying about the flag afterwards.  The flag did come once the ball was in the net, but the referee overruled and the goal was allowed to stand: 2-2.

We should have now been scoring a flurry of goals to stop any thoughts Mustang may have had about taking all three points.  Instead we found ourselves behind going into half time when Mustang’s striker was given space in the box from a corner to attempt an audacious overhead kick which surprised us all, including Webby who had little chance of stopping the effort: 3-2.

It was obvious what we had to do in the second half, and we spent the best part of 45 minutes camped in the opposition half.  However, we would have had a better chance of finding the Holy Grail than finding the back of the net.  Chance after chance flew wide or was blocked by the numerous bodies that crowded the area.  Even the defenders were getting in on the act with Brian hitting the post from a corner, and Eye-Ball having an effort that flew over.  It was probably these attempts to assist in attack whilst holding up the defence as we committed more men forward that earned Eye-Ball the MoTM award.

There was a risk that the score line would become even more embarrassing when a Mustang player found himself clear through as we chased the equaliser.  However, for the first time one of their touches didn’t turn to gold, and Webby was able to comfortably collect the ball from an ill-advised attempt to lob him.

So a week to forget (shame we have to have this report as a reminder), but it would be wrong not to offer our opposition a bit of praise.  They got stuck in, played with heart and character, took their chances and therefore deserved a bit of luck. Others may find it amusing to see this result, but that just puts more emphasis on us to prove it was a blip, and that we are still a team who can beat anyone in this league.

Eye-Ball

Next game: Sunday 16^th November @ Home v FC Deportivo Thurrock

Goal scoring chart