The last thing you want after nearly a month without a game (and the Christmas turkey binge) is 120 minutes of football, against one of the best teams in the league, with only eleven players. It could have been a lot worse if it hadn't been for the timely return of club legend Nathan Kerin, who was signed up just in time to make his first appearance since the end of last season some nine months ago. I'm sure he was expecting to be eased back into the side gently, but instead got to play a full game plus 30 minutes at centre back.
Alec is having a pretty easy job of selecting the starting eleven at the moment, and chose to sort the players available into the following formation.
Clements really got the bit between their teeth in this match as they got stuck into their opposition all over the pitch. We could have easily sat back and simply soaked up the pressure, but the formation that had more or less been forced upon us resulted in quite an attacking approach. With 3 attack minded wingers in midfield there were lots of positive runs, with many of Clements' good moves coming through Sharpy as he acted as the link between midfield and attack. This may have resulted in some last ditch defending but and us riding our luck at times, but from my view point it was a delight to see us try and play some of the good passing football that has been lacking at times despite it being well within our capability. In particular it was great to see Chris growing in confidence on the wing and looking to use his pace and skill to take on the full back and really open up the game for us.
Despite our efforts we went behind in the first half when Stifford's striker squeezed the ball in at the near post through the legs of Niki, Eye-Ball and Conor. However, our response was almost immediate as the ball found its way to Ryan, via Liam, in the box and he found a gap through a crowded area to but the ball in the back of the net. Clements deserved to be at least level pegging at half time, but South Stifford scored again to take the lead going into the break 1-2.
It is amazing what a couple of weeks of playing with minimal (or fewer) players does for team moral, as despite being behind you could really tell that a really togetherness is starting to form in the team. The half time talk was a positive one, and we believed that we could get back into the game. This was evident in a gutsy second half display which we deservedly won thanks to a goal from Liam who was quickest to pounce on a loss ball from Dale's long throw. Both teams had chances to win the game in the 90 minutes, but none were taken meaning another 30 minutes of hard graft.
With both teams running on empty the first goal in extra time would probably settle the game as turned out to be the case, with Stifford taking the lead in the first 15 minute period. Clements gave it their all to the end, which inevitably led to gaps forming in defence which our opposition exploited to run out eventual 2-5 winners.
So we may have lost the match, but more importantly we lost it in the manner that we would want to play in any game regardless of the outcome. Every one should have been proud of their performance and the attitude we showed was spot on - long may it continue.
Eye-Ball
Goal scoring chart:
