As the new season began on a sunny morning at Belhus Park,
it was hard to know what to expect. The
level of changes at the club since the end of last season are up there with the
mass influx of players three seasons ago, which lead to us romping to a league
and cup double. During the summer we
lost our manager and a full team of players, and it is a credit to the guys who
were left that at the start of this season we have a new manager (although a
very old and familiar face), a new kit (it’s red and there are a choice of sizes!),
a new sponsor – The Old Ship Inn, Aveley (get yourself down there and meet Kev
and Rudy) and eight new players signed up.
Not only do we not know what to expect of ourselves, but the league also
looks completely different, with the four teams remaining from last year’s
Division One being joined by the top six from Division 2. Interestingly this should have been quite a
good game to gauge what to expect with the highest finishing team left in Div 1
(us) against the unbeaten Division Two champions – FC Deportivo Thurrock. Therefore to come out on top thanks to a
determined and dramatic comeback should give us great confidence to build on in
the upcoming weeks.
The atmosphere before the game was one of excitement and
optimism, and it seems that we’ve got a really supportive and likeable group of
lads, which will hopefully mean we can build a team spirit that has
historically been what has made this such a great club to play for. Sharpy is quickly proving that he is a
manager who is not scared to try something different, but like many of his
accumulators, it doesn’t always work out as planned. Still, you have to try these things, and
today’s experiment was to start with a 4-3-3 formation, which included new boys
filling some big shoes that had been left by some departing legends. Making their debuts were Webby in goal, Brian
at centre back, Luke at right back and Jake in midfield. H has struggled to hold down a starting spot upfront
in the last couple of years due to the consistent goal scoring antics of Dale
and Liam, but impressed last week with Ryan in centre midfield, where his work
ethic and determination may help to fill the big hole left by the absence, through
injury ,of club captain Foggy. With Jake
complimenting this with composure on the ball and an eye for a pass, and Ryan’s
mazy runs we have the making of a formidable midfield when all are fit and work
commitments don’t get in the way.
Subs: Chris, Jonny, Lil’ Ryan
The pre-match optimism was soon dented when Clements found
themselves behind within the first two minutes.
Webby may be the size of a second row forward, but I didn’t think we would
need to tell him that when playing with
a round ball you generally have to tackle the ball and not the man. Unfortunately it seems he could have done
with a reminder when he timed his advance for a diagonal ball across the box
perfectly to kick the ball player clear
of danger. It just so happens that the
referee was officiating by association football rules, and awarded a penalty which
was duly dispatched: 1-0.
Webby soon made up for this indiscretion with a fine
spreading block to get Eye-Ball out of jail when his sliced clearance but the
Deportivo winger clear through on goal.
The experimental formation really was not working for
Clements, as the midfield trio struggled to work out how best to deal with
Deportivio’s slick passing and quick breaks that were leaving us exposed at the
back and down the flanks. This resulted
in Sharpy and Dale spending more time running backwards than forwards, which
meant when we did get the ball Liam was left to chase lost causes. Sharpy was also discovering how hard it is to
manage a side when you’re also trying to remember to put one foot in front of
the other and deal with a fast approaching leathery sphere. His attempts to change the formation to 4-4-2
led to further confusion, but to be fair when H wakes up most mornings not
knowing who he is or where he has been, it’s going to take more than an exasperated
and wheezy communication of tactics to get across what is required.
Frustration was now boiling over, with H uncharacteristically
losing his rag. Things got worse when
Deportivo’s burly striker found room on the edge of the box to get the ball out
of his feet and smash it into the corner of the net: 2-0.
Clements did now start to settle into the game, and despite
Deportivo’s overall height advantage our best chances to score came from set
pieces with both Robin and Sharpy getting into good heading positions, which
unfortunately came to nothing. With many
balls being over hit both from midfield and Webby’s hands, we struggled to
create any sustained pressure, and the half ended disappointedly with a number
of angry exchanges.
Something had to change for the second half. Firstly Sharpy took himself off for Chris,
who played on the right with Ryan returning to a more familiar position on the
left. Change in personnel would not be
enough, as we needed to start fighting for each other again, rather than with
each other.
The improvement was almost instantaneous with H and Jake
growing in confidence and gradually controlling the midfield, which in turn
exposed Deportivo’s one dimensional approach of aiming for their big striker,
who was being given no change by Brian and Robin. With Chris linking up with the midfield and
strikers this also allowed Luke to own the right side of our half, whereas in
the first half he had to fill the entire side of the pitch. Ryan was also now able to do what he does
best, and exploit the space on the left.
Deportivo’s pacey defence had been comfortable with the ball
played on the deck through the middle, but we finally exposed their weakness
thanks for a ball over the top from H that landed in the corridor of
uncertainty between the penalty spot and 18 yard box. Defenders and keeper were left dancing the
salsa whilst Liam glided through to scuff the ball into an empty net (I really
didn’t think it was going to make it over the line at one point!): 2-1.
This goal came early enough in the second half for Clements
to seriously believe they could get back in the game. We were now on top, and some of the passing
in triangles was a joy to watch and what many of us have been waiting to see consistently
from this team. This team play was
capped by Ryan K’s individual brilliance as he received the ball from Dale on
the right, and evaded a couple of challenges before finishing superbly across
the keeper with his left foot: 2-2.
Despite the obvious risks involved with changing the side
with the game in the balance, it was great to see Sharpy stand by his promise
to get everyone on the pitch, with Lil’ Ryan and Jonny replacing Luke and
Robin. With Jonny being a returning club
legend, I thought I would look for the last game in which he played, and was
shocked to see that he has never featured in an Eye-Ball affiliated match report,
which means it has been over 6 years since he pulled on a shirt for this club. Well, he is going to get his moment in the
lime-light now, as he was leading the last ditch defensive effort that kept
Deportivo from scoring in a torturous ten minute spell in which Jonny’s face
(twice), Webby’s sizeable frame, multiple Clements bodies (including some brave
and painful interventions from Lil’ Ryan), the foot of the post and a spot of
luck when a suicidal pass from Eye-Ball ended thankfully with the Deportivo
player firing wide, left us thinking we might just get away from this game with
a point.
As it was, our collective effort ended up earning us all
three points when in the dying seconds Chris showed composure and strength on
the right to hold off the Deportivo striker before playing the ball up the line
to Ryan. He then lifted the ball forward
into the corridor of uncertainty that had brought earlier success. Once again this tactic paid off when this
time Dale got between the defenders and beat the outrushing keeper to the ball
to poke it past him into the net: 2-3.
Sharpy’s tears of laughter brought on by Jonny’s
ball-to-face interactions turned to tears of joy as his seeming dead and buried
team pulled off a remarkable comeback which will send shockwaves through the
rest of the league who will expect Deportivo to be serious challengers for the
league title. A fantastic result, and
one we should be very proud of. However,
we shouldn’t get carried away and must not forget the moments in the game when
we didn’t cover ourselves in glory, but have within our power to cut out.
Goal scoring chart
Next game: Sunday 28th September, Away v
Thameside @ The Billet
