Clements Athletic 1 - 2 Sporting 77 (Essex Junior Cup Round 2)

Clements' Essex Cup run came to an end in challenging conditions, as a first half lead was overturned via a penalty and a freak, wind assisted effort.  The funny thing was, that even before our visitors from Braintree had but the ball in the net, we had already beaten ourselves through a general lack of team cohesion and willingness to fight for and support each other.  It's easy to expect too much, and perhaps be too hard on ourselves when there have been a lot of changes since the last season.  This was actually only our 4th competitive game, and our first in three weeks, so fitness and match sharpness was going to be an issue.  Still, we need to get used to having tough games, and still be able to come away feeling positive about the way we played.

Alec had a big headache this week with 16 players to choose from, including 6 who would ideally play in the centre of the park.  This included Ben W, who made his first appearance of the season.

Subs: Chris, Harry, Alan, Bunny, Gollum

The conditions have already been mentioned, and the gale force wind blowing into the bottom corner added to the poorly prepared pitch; the lines had been cut, but that was it.  Despite this, Clements started brightly and took the lead when Ryan's in swinging corner was headed in by Liam for his first goal of the season.

We weren't able to press home our advantage from here, and did a fair amount of defending.  Browne cleared one off the line, and Conor made a few good saves to keep us in front.  Possession was too easily lost, and hopeful balls up to the isolated figure of Liam just weren't working.

The mood at half time was pretty bleak, and this attitude followed us onto the pitch for the second half.  We had our chances, and when Tapsell broke and slid the ball through for Liam - who appeared to have held his run to beat the offside trap - the lead should have been doubled.  The linesman thought otherwise - actually his flag went up so quick I don't think he could have had time to think.  Sporting 77 then scored from the spot after the ball was lost in midfield, and Eye-Ball was a little slow to react to the ball in behind and ended up taking the man out before he had chance to shoot at goal: 1-1.

The wind was so strong that it was almost easier playing against it, and it played a big part in Sporting 77's second goal.  A speculative high ball seemed to be sailing over the bar, but then a gust of wind stopped it in its tracks, and it dropped out of Conors reach and under the crossbar: 1-2.

This was a mortal blow to an already waning side, and we found it hard to find the extra reserves to push forward and press for an equaliser.  Our best chance came when Ryan whipped in an awesome free kick from the left that somehow evaded all the players who were queuing up at the back post.  Niki and Conor put in some last ditch defending at the other end to keep the scoreline respectable, but the end result was the end of our run in the Essex Cup for another year.

It is unusual for me to not find more positives from a game, and I do think that, as a club we are at a bit of a crossroads and need to decide how we want to move forward.  Sharpy has rightly identified that we would benefit from bonding more as a team and I would urge as many of us to support him with this as we can.


Eye-Ball

Goal scoring chart

Next game: Sunday 3rd November @ Home v S.S.C. Orsett

Gallow United FC 2 - 3 Clements Athletic (Essex Junior Cup 1st Round)

Alarm bells started ringing when we turned up at the Great Baddow Recreation Ground to find two pitches and four teams already occupying the changing rooms.  The fact that Gallow had moved ground in recent years hadn't filter through, and it took ten minutes of phone calls and much appreciated help from the locals to work out that we should be the other side of Chelmsford.  Fortunately the referee and opposition were understanding, and the adventure had a happy ending as Clements gained entry to the next round with a 3-2 victory.  We didn't make it easy for ourselves, as a two goal lead was twice reduced to one goal thanks to our own mistakes.  We also failed to capitalise on a number of good chances to put the game beyond doubt, and ended up hanging on despite being far and away the better team.

Alec once again had the difficult job of choosing the starting line-up, and decided to pack the midfield whilst giving Liam his full debut up front.

Subs: Ben, H, Chris, Parker, Alan

There wasn't much time for a pre-match talk, but the main instruction was to try and get the ball down and play some football.  Clements tried to do this, and with the threesome in the middle working well together there tended to be options available.  Bunny especially was making time for himself with some neat touches and seemed to be the catalyst for all our good passing moves.  The one criticism would be that Liam was finding himself a bit isolated up front as we started the game with quite a defensive mindset.

The confidence of the side was boosted as we took the lead after about 15 minutes.  Dale was brought down on the edge of the area, and despite not being a regular free kick taker fancied his chances against a shaky looking wall.  His hunch paid off, as his well-driven effort flew through the wall, away from the keeper and into the net: 0-1.

The lead was extended soon after when Liam broke down the right and into the box.  He chose to ignore Eye-Ball, who had burst forward into the box, and instead the ball found its way back to Dale who side footed the ball into the top of the net: 0-2.

Clements were well on top now, and perhaps felt a little guilty for spoiling Gallow's Sunday morning.  Having played the ball out nicely from the back, Foggy then passed it back towards Niki who, under pressure and running towards goal attempted to slide the ball onto Conor's right foot.  Unfortunately his feeble touch and the long grass combined to turn his attempted back pass into a perfect pass for the Gallow forward, who slipped the ball into an empty net: 1-2.

Clements had chances to regain their two goal lead before the break, with one of the best falling to Tapsell following a scramble in the box from a corner.  Unfortunately Rob's naturally instinct to get in the way of any moving object was our downfall on this occasion, as he blocked the goal bound effort.  Ryan also put in a peach of an inswinging cross from the left, which none of the three or four Clements players who flung themselves at it could get on the end of.  So we had to settle for a one goal lead at the break.

H came on for the second half to give Liam some support up top, with Niki having a breather and Foggy moving back to the middle of defence.  Chris also replaced Ryan on the left.  These were the first of a number of changes as Clements took advantage of the roll on roll off Essex Cup rule.  Again Clements looked comfortable, and were soon creating chances.  H was making a nuisance of himself and combined with Liam and Dale on a number of occasions, but they were unable to find the back of the net.  Tapsell also came to life in the second half, and got on the end of a corner from Dale to head Clements into a 3-1 lead.

We should have put Gallow to bed from this point, but a number of chances went narrowly wide.  We again were instrumental in our own downfall, as Eye-Ball did well to get a foot in the way of a cross into the box with a man behind him.  The ball came to Conor a bit quick, and the split second indecision as to whether or not the referee would blow for a pass back was enough for a Gallow player to get in the way of Conor's attempted clearance, and the ball ricocheted into the net: 2-3.

The final 10 minutes basically consisted of Clements catching Gallow on the break, missing a chance and being put under pressure from long balls at the other end.  Niki redeemed his earlier error as Conor was once again unlucky when he rushed out the meet the ball and only succeeded in kicking it against the striker.  Every ricochet seemed to end up heading towards goal, and although Niki appeared to be treading water, he got back just in time to slide in a steer the ball round the post.  The Oaks defended valiantly for the last 5 minutes, with Tapsell especially leading by example as he threw himself at everything and worked hard to keep possession.

Dale also had a great chance to complete his hat-trick, but couldn't find the target from a tight angle, but fortunately we held on for our first win of the season, and a much deserved (and almost unheard of) home draw in the next round.

Eye-Ball

Next game: Sunday 13th October - Away @ Palmers v Mossops.

Goal Scoring Chart: