At last, a win! 2015
has been pretty miserable so far, and it felt great to finally get a win under
our belts. OK, so Greyhound were the
weakest side we have played since the turn of the year, but this was a
controlled and composed performance in which the confidence which had been so
severely missing in recent weeks gradually returned, until we were nearly back
to our old selves by the time the referee blew up at the end of the game.
Sharpy only had 12 players to choose from, and with Webby
still injured Foggy ‘took one for the team’ by going in goal. This he did despite suffering with a sprained
wrist, but fortunately he got through the game without any damage being done,
and it meant Liam could continue his good partnership with Dale up front.
Subs: Chris
It was clear early on that we should be good enough to beat
Greyhound, with the only risk being the awful condition of the pitch, which
made up in mud what it was lacking in grass.
We took the lead when Dale came close to scoring himself, but in the end
took the next best option when his shot was blocked, by poking the ball into
the path of Liam, who scored from 7 yards.
Foggy can claim an indirect assist, as I’m not sure if Liam would have
made it into this goal scoring position if he had been in goal (although he
came close when he rushed out to miss the ball last time out!): 1-0.
A one goal lead wasn’t enough to settle our nerves, but
despite our best efforts we weren’t able to extend our lead in the first
half. This was in part due to some fine
saves from Greyhound’s keeper, one of which denied lil’ Ryan of his first
Clements goal when he unleashed a fierce shot from just inside the box.
It wasn’t all one way traffic, and with the sun in our eyes
defending against Greyhound’s long ball was not easy, and at times we didn’t
look comfortable. However, Foggy wasn’t
in the mood to be beaten, and when the ball fell to a Greyhound player in the
box our skipper was out quickly to block the shot with his leg and keep us in
the lead at the half way mark.
The second half was much more one way traffic, as our
midfield gradually took control and Greyhound’s defence continued to struggle
with Liam and Dale’s movement. It was
the movement of Dale on the left which led to a vital second goal. You can’t really say that Ryan spotted his
run, but Dale was hollering so loudly at his brother to play the reverse pass
through the gap that the ball could have been played blindfolded. As you would expect, the ball was perfect, as
was Dale’s finish across the keeper: 2-0.
Dale tried to claim a second goal, but although the ball
ended up in the net, there were no flies on the referee who gave a goal kick
when Dale’s throw in sailed into the goal without further intervention.
Clements are a different side when they are a couple of
goals in front, and we were now playing with swagger and energy, and suddenly
everyone wanted the ball. More goals
were inevitable, and for the second time this season Luke mugged a Kenyon.
However, his run from the right deserved something, and a slight deflection on
Ryan’s shot as it flew into the corner of the net from 20 yards meant Luke’s
reward was the goal whilst Ryan had to settle for his second assist of the
game. Still that is what he is in the
team for! 3-0.
Ryan didn’t have to wait long to deservedly get on the score
sheet, and it was his name sake who provided the cross from the right for Ryan
to head towards goal. His connection was
much better than last time he had a headed chance, and the keeper had no chance
of keeping the ball out on this occasion: 4-0.
So at last we did it, and a clean sheet was the icing on the
cake. There were nominations all over
the pitch for MoTM, including Alex who got the balance between stepping up and
dropping off just right to play the sweeping role superbly. In midfield lil’Ryan was influential in a
rare 90 minute performance, and Jake’s composure gave the rest of the attacking
players the time to get into good positions to receive the ball. However, the award rightly went to Harry, who
was back to his old self as he tackled hard, tracked back, got forward, and on
numerous occasions was the catalyst for our attacks as a sharp turn or burst of
pace took more than one Greyhound player out of the game at once. DoTD was a
little more difficult, as nobody did anything to put either themselves or the
team to shame. In the end a new criteria
had to be created, and Robin received the award purely based on the fact that
he had not had it so far, and is probably the one least likely to do so through
the regular route.
So well done boys, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did,
and let’s make sure we experience the feeling of winning again next week.
Eye-Ball
Next game: Sunday 1st March @ Home v Mossops
Goal scoring chart
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