The omens were looking good for this game. The team effort to get the posts up by 0945
continued, all but two of the squad were
available, we had a referee and the rain held off long enough for us to pose
for the team photo prior to the game.
Things just got better and better as Clements put in such an impressive
team performance that we almost didn’t vote for DoTD. However, we were then reminded that Jake had
turned up 10 minutes before kick-off, and couldn’t see straight thanks to the
previous evening’s excesses. Having said
that, it was impressive that he did turn up and managed about 60 minutes.
Looking at the league table midweek was a bit of a shock, as
we had fallen from second in the table to about sixth. This was due to the fact that S.S.C. Orsett
had folded and all their games (including our victory) had been wiped. Poor old Sharpy must have been wondering why
he had bothered taking all the stick from refereeing the game. So we were now back to two wins from two, three
games and 7 points behind our opponents.
Still their results didn’t suggest they were anything we should be too
worried about, as was born out in our dominate display.
For the first time Sharpy had his three specialist central
midfielders (I think H deserves that label now) to choose from, but rather than
change what has been a winning formation skipper Foggy was asked to partner
Robin at centre back, which is a job he is equally excellent at (is that a good
enough mention skip?). The rest of the
team had a familiar and formidable look to it.
Subs: Jonny, Rob, lil’ Ryan
Clements superiority was soon evident, and it was
interesting to see Lakeside – who were kicking into a strong wind first half –
having to resort to the type of long ball over the top that has been a
criticism of our team in the past. As it
was, most of these passes and long range efforts flew wide or were easily dealt
with by Webby (also suffering from alcohol impairment), who did have to make
one fine tip over the bar.
Clements broke the deadlock when the ball was worked out by
Jake to Chris (he must have seen the blue boots), who had come in off the right
wing. He then slipped a perfect pass
through to Dale, who had found space between the shoddy Lakeside back
four. He had time to compose himself and
riffle a low shot into the far corner: 1-0.
The lead was soon extended with a goal that caused much
debate in The Old Ship Inn after the game, as Ryan’s inswinging corner (won by
Dale’s good persistence) deflected off a defender at the near post and into the
net. I had thought that the dubious goal
committee was a democratic entity, and that the 6-4 vote in Ryan’s favour would
mean he should be awarded the goal and Dale the assist. However, it actually turns out that dictator
Sharpy has the right to veto the vote, which means another scalp for own goals,
and only an assist for Kenyon the younger: 2-0.
We continued to stay on top until the last five minutes of
the first half, when Lakeside enjoyed more possession and began to get closer
to finding the net. With the last kick
of the half they reduced the deficit when, like many keepers before him, Webby
was caught out by a dipping free kick which was assisted by the strong wind
that was blowing between the flats and Thurrock Harriers: 2-1.
The timing of this goal wasn’t great, as it would have
improved Lakeside’s half team talk.
However, at least it also meant that Clements could regroup and remind
each other that we were still winning, and were by far the better side.
The overwhelming emotion that seemed to be flowing through
the Clements side in a challenging second half, where the heavens opened and
the wind strengthened (I can’t believe the plastic bag warranted DoTD
nominations), and one I definitely felt was pride. This was also reiterated by Sharpy at the end
of the match. It just felt that there
was no way we were going to lose, with every man prepared to take
responsibility for ensuring we didn’t, and fighting for his fellow warriors in
red. This spirit was epitomised by Chris
Batt, who you wouldn’t usually associate with crunching sliding tackles and
putting your head in danger of being kicked, but this is exactly what we
witnessed.
As a result, I don’t remember Lakeside creating a clear cut
chance, even when they introduced lightning pace, this was countered by the
superb positioning and timing of Jonny and Rob (who had replaced Robin and
Jake, with Foggy moving to midfield).
Foggy and H were putting their bodies on the line in midfield, Ryan was
racing forward to support and create chances for Dale and Liam, whilst also
doing more than his fair share of defending to ensure we kept our noses in
front. Luke was reigning in his
attacking urges to help the defensive cause, and Dale and Liam continued to terrorise
Lakeside’s defence with their determination, pace and movement. Even lil’ Ryan got in on the act, and on
another day would have been awarded a penalty after being tripped in the box.
Daylight was finally put between us and the opposition when
Liam raced down the right before lifting the ball into Dale, who smashed the
bouncing ball into the far corner for his second goal of the game: 3-1.
As the weather got worse, any hope Lakeside had against the
wind was quickly evaporating, and the final score line flattered them, as we
had some great chances to properly humiliate them. Dale hit the wood work once and shot narrowly
wide following two defence splitting passes (OK, hoicked clearances) from
Eye-Ball. H lifted the ball clear over
the bar having temporarily forgotten how to kick a football when in front of
goal, and Liam saw his effort saved by the keeper’s legs when put through
one-on-one. Still this did nothing to
dampen the sense of satisfaction from collecting another well-deserved three
points and ending our opponent’s unbeaten start.
There were many deserving nominations for MoTM, but this
week the award went to Foggy, who had been solid at the back but really came
into his own when pushed into midfield.
His shear tenacity and dogged determination was too much for Lakeside’s
fragile midfield, who were bullied and harassed for much of the half.
No week is going to be easy, and next week we have the
challenge of coping without our top scorer and two first choice central
midfielders. Still, this gives us the
chance to show what a strong unit we are.
Eye-Ball
Next game: Sunday 9th November, Away @ The Billet v Mustang.
Goal scoring chart
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