Fobbing 3 - 1 Clements Athletic (Ted Fairchild Cup)

The prize for winning this tie was a quarter final tie against Division One runaway leaders Purfleet Old Boys, with the winner then going on to play either Ockendon Motor Spares or St Clere's in the semi final.  Needless to say we were not overly optimistic of our chances of making it beyond the quarters, but this was in no way an excuse for a lacklustre second half performance against an established premiership side who we believe we were capable of beating.

Alec once again had a wealth of players to choose from, with only Ben missing from the previous game.  He rightly felt the key would be winning the midfield battle, and so opted for a 4-5-1 formation, with Nathan joining Tapsell and Foggy, whilst Liam was given the tough task of playing up top on his own.

Subs: Chris, Alan, Gollum, Harry

Clements started brightly, with the three in the centre of midfield working particularly hard to win possession and break up any Fobbing attacks.  Set pieces were always going to provide an opportunity to create chances, and Clements took the lead from a corner that was eventually put into the net by a Fobbing player after Rob got the final Clements touch in a crowded six yard box: 0-1.

Niki and Rob were doing well to stop any chances coming through the middle, and it was from the left flank that Fobbing fortuitously found an equaliser when their striker's cross from more on less on the bye-line evading the onrushing Conor and squeezed into the net from a ridiculous angle: 1-1.

For a team who must be used to playing against much bigger and nastier players in the premier division, there was a general feeling that Fobbing were a little over-theatrical in their reactions to win free-kicks.  From one player's screams, and the length of time he spent rolling on the floor, you would have put money on Dale having broken his leg.  As it was he was up and running around five minutes later, and it seems that he was then substituted more through the manager's embarrassment rather than the extent of his injury.

All the hard work of the first half was ultimately undone by a poor second half performance in which we conceded two soft goals and created very little.  The marking should have been better from a long throw which was gratefully headed home, and Conor was beaten by the bounce of the ball after listening to his team mates rather than his head.  We were all as bad as one another in the second half, and it was therefore disappointing to hear people aiming negative comments at individuals, and to see more energy being exerted arguing with each other rather than on trying to beat the opposition.  We all want to be good at winning, but it is also important to be good a losing.  You can always encourage someone to work harder if you feel they could give more, but you can't stop anyone making a mistake, or make any difference by reminding them of the fact.  I always feel we have won a minor victory when I see other teams turn on each other whilst we are being supportive and getting on.  No matter what the scoreline, or who the opposition is, we can always win this particular battle.

Eye-Ball

Goal Scoring Chart