This match showcased the good, the bad and the ugly of
Clements Athletic. The bad was a lacklustre
first half performance in which we were nowhere near matching the fight,
determination and hunger of our opponents, who were obviously intent on gaining
revenge for the thrashing we handed them in the reverse fixture. We could argue that the opening goal
(certainly not intended to drop into the far corner from a free kick) was a bit
lucky, and that being caught on the break for the third goal was a consequence
of having to commit more men forward as we tried to get back into the game, but
the truth of the matter is that we were pretty awful and deserved to be three
nil down at half time.
Sub: Harry
The good was how we responded to this in the second
half. It was refreshing that there was
no finger pointing at half time, but a consensus that we needed to forget about
the score line and use the 45 minutes left in the match to regain a bit of pride. This we certainly did, as every player went
into the tackles a bit harder, chased a lot further and showed a desire to help
out their team mates by showing for the ball.
We only managed to claw back one goal, but it was a good one, which saw
Liam chest the ball at the far post and finish high into the net following a
fine cross from Batty. We created enough
chances in the second half to at least get a point from the game, but credit to
Greyhound for defending bravely and to their keeper who had an assured
performance.
There was plenty more that epitomised the good, including
the commitment of Webby, who soldiered through the game on one leg, the miles
and miles of running put in by the Chapin brothers, who really set the
standard, and the respect each man showed to his fellow team mates, which was
reflected in the wide spread of votes for MoTM.
This award was deservedly won on this occasion, for the first time (and
ironically on the week that the gaffer was absent) by Batty, who actually
announced prior to the match that he wouldn’t be paying his subs this week
because he would be winning the MoTM award.
True to his word, Batty was involved in all our best moves in the second
half, and his quality and range of delivery really shone through. More of the same next week please!
So that just leaves the ugly: step forward Harry Judge. His arrival at the match was unexpected, but
perfectly timed as we were temporarily reduced to ten men because of a painful
looking injury to Alex’s ankle, incurred when he attempted to change direction
to chase the ball. He says he heard a
pop, which doesn’t sound good, and it was a blow to lose another player just as
the squad had been significantly strengthened by the welcome return of Big Rob. The referee agreed to let H come on, despite
not being named as a substitute, which is a decision he probably regretted for
the subsequent 75 minutes. Now the
referee made some poor decisions, but nobody felt the injustice of the whistle
more than H, whose temperature was raised to boiling point on more than one
occasion. If his angry outbursts weren’t
enough to win DoTD on their own, throwing an empty bottle in the direction of
the referee at the end of the match sealed it; and Mother’s day is usually such
a good day for young Mr Arthur.
So we now down to two games left, and they are going to be
tough. After an amazing start to the
season, it looks like we might be finishing comfortably mid table. However, these two games should be an
opportunity to prove that we can be as good as we were early season. As our second half performance in this match
showed, there is always something play for.
Eye-Ball
Goal scoring chart
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