Alec had a full squad to choose from, and decided to start with a very similar side to the one that had finished so strongly the previous week. The one change was Nathan coming in for Ben, and swapping to Rob to play at centre back alongside Niki.
Subs: Ben, Chris, Alan, Browne, Gollum, Parker, Sharpy
Clements took the lead within the first minute before nine of the eleven players on our side had even touched the ball. Mossops kicked off, and when Liam won the ball in the centre circle he passed it out to Dale on the right before running towards goal. Dale skipped passed a couple of players before racing to the right bye-line and squaring the ball to the near post where Liam arrived just in time to tap the ball into the net: 0-1.
Clements continued to dominate in the midfield, and Ryan and Dale were a constant threat on the flanks. Liam was always ready to run in behind, and capitalised on a floated ball over the top from Tapsell to calmly lift the ball over the stranded keeper: 0-2.
Clements should have extended their lead further when Liam was brought down in the area just as he was about to unleash a shot on goal. Dale - usually so reliable from the spot - strode up confidently and passed the ball tamely to the keeper.
Mossops rarely threatened the Clements goal, and when they did get into the box Conor was on hand to snuffle the danger. Clements went into half time with a deserved two goal cushion, but knew they couldn't afford to let Mossops get back into the game.
Mossops started the second half brightly and had Clements on the back foot for the opening fifteen minutes. They were thrown a life-line when Nathan brought down Mossop's striker just outside the box. Fortunately Eye-Ball was close enough for the referee to question whether a goal scoring opportunity had been denied. Despite this a goal was not prevented as the free kick was curled beyond Conor into the far corner: 1-2.
We had to raise our game now, as Mossops were growing in confidence. Alec was able to respond by introducing fresh legs with Browne, Chris and Alan coming on during the second half. Chris was instrumental in restoring Clements' two goal cushion when he collected the ball on the left from Foggy, who had raced back to make a tackle and break up a Mossops counter attack. This enabled us to counter their counter, and Chris made it to the bye-line before crossing low to the far post where Liam was on hand to complete his hat-trick by applying a neat finish from a tight angle.
Unfortunately, Liam was denied the opportunity to take the match ball home (I'm not sure that actually happens in Sunday League football anyway) by another example of how not to strike a dead ball from Team Kenyon. This time it was Ryan - again usually so dangerous from free kicks - who hit the ball onto the roof of the changing rooms from 20 yards out.
These missed opportunities had no bearing on the outcome, and Clements were able to put the result beyond doubt when Team Kenyon discovered they are a lot more effective as a team than individually. Dale took a corner from the right, and Ryan reacted quickly to a deflection to hit the ball first time on the half volley into the roof of the net: 1-4.
The last time we played Mossops we were struggling for players, and were held to a 2-2 draw. This result demonstrated what we are capable of with a full squad available, and hopefully we will have a lot more weeks like this.
Eye-Ball
Goal Scoring Chart
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