Lakeside F.C. 3 - 3 Aveley Academicals

It is hard to say whether this result should be viewed as a point gained or two points lost.  On one hand, the fact our opposition only had eleven men presented a good opportunity, but then we were also missing some key players and had to play a number of individuals in unfamiliar positions to fill the holes.  We also missed a hat full of good chances, but then showed great determination to recover from a two goal deficit in the second half.  I’m edging more towards this being a positive result, as the result extends our unbeaten run to 5 games – which underlines the belief we have rediscovered since narrowly losing to Stanford – and was also a vast improvement on the last time we played this side.

It has been mentioned that Sharpy had to have a major re-shuffle, with Eye-Ball filling in at centre-back, Ryan playing as the main striker with Jake just in behind and Nick playing on the left.  Liam partnered Harry in the middle and James stood in at left back.

Subs: Alex, Scott, Sharpy

Aveley started brightly, and should have taken the lead when Jake fed a good ball inside the full back for Craig.  Craig’s initial shot was saved, and then he couldn’t find a way to goal on the rebound as Lakeside defenders and keeper threw themselves in front of the ball.  Burying the ball from 6 yards is becoming a bit of an issue as others also failed in this scramble when the odds seemed stacked against the defending side.

Some of the Aveley players were struggling to come to terms with their new positions in the first half, and our shape was awful at times.  This was all the more apparent when Eye-Ball was drawn into attempting an interception in midfield, which was unsuccessful and resulted in Rob being exposed at the back.  The Lakeside midfielder raced clear and finished calmly past Foggy: 1-0.

We responded well to going one down, but appeared to have wasted yet another gilt edged opportunity to score from close range.  However, we were handed a lifeline when Ryan picked up the loose ball and played a short ball in the area to Jake.  He pushed it past the defender and was brought down for a stone wall penalty.  With Dale missing there was a short discussion about who should take the kick, which included a recommendation for Eye-Ball which was very quickly dismissed by the Gaffa (and Eye-Ball to be fair).  For once the previous week’s training session would come in useful, as penalty practise had given us a good idea of who was most likely to score from 12 yards.  There was consequently no arguments when Ryan was handed the ball.  He showed himself to be as competent under match conditions as in training, as he sent the keeper the wrong way to get us back in the match: 1-1.

We were restricting Lakeside to very few chances, but they once again showed what a difference it makes when you finish the ones you get.  The striker broke down the right and pulled the ball back across the box where the left winger had arrived unmarked.  His initial effort was well saved by Foggy, but their other striker reacted quickest to put the ball in the back of the net: 2-1.

We know we are in trouble when Sharpy walks us away to a quieter spot at half time, but the advice that followed from both Gaffa and captain was constructive and helpful.  Things definitely improved in the second half, despite going another goal down following a sloppy moment from a corner when Foggy and about three defenders collided going for the ball from a corner, and it deflected in off Robin’s back for the first O.G. of the season: 1-3.

Sharpy made two changes following this goal with Nick being replaced by Scott and Alex making his debut in place of Robin.  No one likes to be taken off, but despite being visibly annoyed to be substituted Nick deserves credit for making the objective observation that these changes seemed to make a difference.  The fresh legs would have helped, as we started to get on top.

It’s fair to say that we wouldn’t have clawed our way back into this came without Ryan’s determination and superb finishing.  It also helped that Jake seemed to be relishing playing in a more advanced role which enabled him to look to make the killer passes that he is always trying in training.  On this occasion the ball was played to him by Luke, who had made a typically incisive run.  Jake then slipped the ball through to Ryan, who won the 50/50 race with the keeper and curled the ball low into the bottom corner: 3-2.

The Lakeside keeper’s kamikaze approach was a popular talking point following our last meeting, as with more luck than judgement he raced off his line on a number of occasions to deny us.  However, his luck seemed to have run out now as he sprinted off his line to try and stop Ryan getting to a high ball forward from Craig. Ryan’s got there first, flicking the ball out to the left before finishing superbly into the near corner of the net with the outside of his right boot: 3-3.

There could easily have been more goals, as both teams had chances which included a very good penalty shout each.  First Lakeside’s striker was unceremoniously stopped in his tracks by James, and then Ryan was taken out after Eye-Ball had ridden a rash challenge before slipping the ball forward.  On both occasion the ref decided to respond to the foul in the box by bringing play back for the foul that had led to him playing an advantage – curious but at least consistent.

A couple of last ditch blocks from Eye-Ball were needed, as well as some good work from Foggy coming off his line to claim the ball and clear any danger, to preserve our point, but we saw it out to the end with Sharpy even allowing himself a little run out, which helped us with winning the ball and retaining possession.  Everyone continued to work hard and get stuck in, and there was even a rare but perfectly timed sliding tackle from Scott to admire – I’m looking forward to seeing more of those!  However, on the balance of play both teams should be happy with a point, and the rendition of “Reach for the Stars” in the showers afterwards suggest the Accies were happy with their morning’s work.

Ryan’s all-round contribution was key to us getting anything from the game.  However, he was just pipped to the MoTM award by Harry, who deservedly received the most votes as he took responsibility for leading the midfield and displayed the bite, dogged determination and commitment that we all should have aspired to.  An honourable mention should also go to Alex, who impressed on his first outing in defence.  The assumption was that he would be predominately a full back, but his height, good positional sense and willingness to communicate with his fellow defenders suggests he is equally happy at centre back, where we can definitely do with some more cover.  There was no DoTD on this occasion, despite Foggy nominating himself for a number of wayward kicks towards the end of the game – give yourself a break skipper!

With training finishing for Christmas and no game now until January it will be down to individuals to avoid the temptation of eating too much turkey, and to try and maintain some reasonable level of fitness.  Who am I kidding, this is Sunday league so everyone is in the same boat.  Eat, drink, and be merry.  Have a fantastic Christmas, and see you all in 2016.

Eye-Ball

Goal scoring chart

Jacks Lads 1 - 4 Aveley Academicals

The Aveley Academicals wagon had been building pace with 3 straight wins, but was in danger of being derailed due to a midweek availability crisis, which led us to believe we would be going into the game against Jacks Lads without Harry, Mo, Ryan, Scott, Jake and Luke.  A three point banker against a side we had comfortably beaten two weeks before was suddenly looking like a potential banana skin.  However, for once the gods took mercy on Sharpy and delivered Harry, Luke and Jimmy to Belhus Park to swing the odds back in our favour.

Subs: Luke, Sharpy

The one challenge we did still had to overcome was how to avoid being blown away by the strong wind, which once again howled across Belhus Park, whilst wearing the purple parachutes that we pass off as our away kit.  For the new boys this would have been the first time they had this pleasure, and it was therefore quite a coincidence that we should bump into someone who was very familiar with the purple outfit in the shape of club legend Deano.  Ironically he was going to be wearing red on this particular day, and although it is great to see him back in the Sunday league fold, it’s a shame it is representing old rivals Linford Wanderers rather than Aveley.

Foggy won the toss, and Aveley set about making best use of the wind advantage in the first half.  With Ryan missing, Jimmy’s return couldn’t have been better timed as he slotted into the number 10 role like a glove and was a key figure in helping the Accies pretty much win the game in the first 45 minutes.  Jimmy got the scoring underway himself when he latched onto Dale’s flick on from Foggy’s clearance, and just got a toe to the ball ahead of the defender to lift it over the stranded keeper and into the net: 0-1.

The second was created by James, who doesn’t let playing at full back stop him from gallivanting further upfield. On one such foray he lifted the ball to the back post where Dale finished on the second attempt with something closer to a slide tackle (even rarer than a header) than a shot.  Still, it just shows how hungry he is for goals even if it means getting a little too friendly with the upright: 0-2.

We may have had a lot of changes in personnel (not to mention a few new names) over the years, but one thing has never changed: this team is a completely different beast when a couple of goals in the lead.  Suddenly everyone wanted the ball; James was racing down the right to receive sumptuous through balls from Nick and Harry was popping up all over the place to win the ball and link up with Craig – his newest partner in the centre.  Brian and Rob were taking no prisoners to win back the ball as soon as it came into our half, and even Eye-Ball was venturing forward and playing neat one-twos with Liam on the left.  The third goal came from Liam’s endeavours, as he harassed and dispossessed the defender before playing the ball across to Dale who caressed it into the far corner with the outside of his boot: 0-3.

Such are the expectations we place on Dale to get us goals, that it hardly raised an eyebrow when he wrapped up a first half hat-trick when Harry play the ball forward to Jimmy, who showed great vision as, with his back to goal, he let the ball slide off the outside of his boot and carry on through to Dale, who smashed the ball into the roof of the net: 0-4.

We didn’t have it all our own way in the first half, and if it hadn’t been for goal line clearances from Robin and Eye-Ball we may have gone into half time having undone a lot of our hard work.  As it was, we did concede once as we got caught on the break having committed too many men forward, and as the ball held up in the wind when played into the box, the Jacks Lad winger reacted quickest to divert the ball past Foggy and into the corner of the net: 1-4.

The half time orders were pretty much to keep doing what we were doing, and with Luke making a straight swap for Eye-Ball there was no reason to believe the second half would be any different from the first – apart from the fact that defending was going to be a little more challenging kicking against the wind.

In almost every way in the second half, we were the football team Sharpy so badly wants us to be.  We played the ball out of defence, provided multiple options to the man with the ball, pressed our opponents to win back possession, and looked to keep hold of the ball instead of hoofing it long at the first opportunity.  With Luke on we now had two fullbacks who love to get forward, so it was no surprise that the second half approach seemed to be attack, attack, attack.  However, through no lack of effort or chances, all we missed were further goals.

The keeper got revenge on Dale with a hat-trick of his own in the second half, as he denied Dale adding further to his goal tally on at least three occasions.  Still the fact that we were creating the chances is as good as scoring them from the team’s point of view.  However, I’m sure Sharpy would have loved to be able to claim the assist for the goal that should have been scored as a result of his perfect through ball.  Before you ask, this wasn’t played from amongst the kit bags, he’d actually brought himself on for a rare cameo performance in place of Craig.

When we played Jacks Lads two weeks ago, Harry scored a worldy to give us the lead, and very nearly repeated the feat as he laced the bouncing ball towards goal from 35 yards.  Despite the wind’s best efforts, it wouldn’t dipped enough to creep under the bar, and instead rebounded off the wood work to safety.

To be fair to Jacks Lads, despite having their backs against the wall they kept on fighting, and would have made the last 10 minutes into squeaky bum time if it hadn’t been for some poor finishing and a couple of fine one-on-one saves from Foggy. 

MoTM was well contested again, with Dale obviously getting a number of votes for yet another hat-trick.  However, this time it rightfully went to one of the unsung heroes of the team.  Brian quietly goes about his business, but hardly ever puts a foot wrong – and it’s even rarer that he loses out in a tackle.  He was the focal point of our defence on this occasion, and often the player who was driving us forward as he anchored the midfield in addition to undertaking his centre back duties.

Whilst we were caught up in the euphoria of our fourth straight win, no DoTD nominations were obvious.  However once we got to the pub a few emerged, including Nick forgetting we were playing in purple as (from a throw in ) he sent the ball in the direction of a player in red with no one in our colours in the vicinity.  He also received another nomination for attempting to turn the defender, but only succeding in falling over and conceding a free kick for hand ball.  Then some were brave enough to mention Foggy’s inability to account for the wind as kick after kick flew off the pitch.  I think our skipper’s response was to highlight Dale’s multiple missed chance in the second half (ouch!). Last but not least, there was Luke and James drawing hand bags at dawn (what was that all about!).  However, with no clear winner coming forward Sharpy again “took one for the team.”  It’s hard to find an excuse this time, which makes you wonder why he seems to want the coveted golden dick so bad…

Well done boys, and let’s make sure we approach next week in exactly the same way.

Eye-Ball

Goal scoring chart

F.C. Deportivo Thurrock 5 - 6 Aveley Academicals

Whilst having to explain another dismal defeat for Newcastle United, Steve McClaren stated that it’s not the squad or the tactics that make the difference between winning and losing; it’s all down to attitude.  Now McClaren isn’t getting much right at the moment, but he was absolutely correct on this occasion, as this applies as much on a blustery Sunday morning at Belhus Park as it does at a packed Selhurst Park on a Saturday afternoon.  Newcastle could definitely learn something from Aveley Academicals, whose attitude was spot on as they exacted revenge for the narrow (and undeserved) defeat to Deportivo earlier in the season.  Sure, we would have preferred the margin of victory to be a little bigger, and the referee kept us sweating for the final whistle, but to leave the battlefield victorious having let a two goal lead slip – followed by a one goal and almost a three goal advantage – took character and desire which some have questioned at times this season.  Perhaps the well-attend social on Friday had helped reunite us – a big thank you to our sponsor!

The squad may not be everything, but having one definitely helps and once again Sharpy had a strong one to choose from.  The fact that he could leave Robin, Jake and James on the bench despite missing both H and Mo is testament to how good we are collectively if we have the numbers.  Arguably our best performance of the season against Stanford Town was with Nick in a holding role, and Sharpy chose to deploy him in this position again, with Scott being given the opportunity to prove himself in the middle with Ryan.

Subs: Robin, James, Jake

Deportivo’s strengths are in their size, strength and speed in attack.  Where they are not so good is at tracking runners and defending through balls.  We didn’t exploit this enough in the previous fixture, but Eye-Ball and Dale demonstrated in the first five minutes what was possible if we kept the ball on the floor, as the defender played the ball in the space inside the full-back to meet the striker’s incisive run.  The keeper saved on this occasion, but the marker had been set.

With the wind in our favour in the first half, we were making better use of possession and restricting our opponents in attack, helped in a large part by Nick who always seemed to be on hand to cut out the long balls which inevitably fell a little short.  With the wind naturally taking the ball right, Scott and Craig were seeing a lot of it, and kept things neat and simple as they looked to bring Liam and Ryan into the game.

It was Ryan who was instrumental in providing the breakthrough for us when he linked up with Dale on the right before racing with the ball to the bye line.  Dale turned and sprinted into the box, and arrived at exactly the right moment to stroke Ryan’s pull back into the bottom corner: 0-1.

Dale should have had a second when Liam latched onto a loose ball played at the back and raced clear.  He did everything right but the keeper saved well.  Liam didn’t give up, and won back possession before squaring the ball on the edge of the six yard box to Dale.  With the goal seemingly at his mercy, he hit the ball directly at the defender on the line, and it was cleared to safety.

If Dale missing such an easy chance was strange, there were other things happening which would have left some wondering if we had entered a parallel universe.  One of the discussion points of Friday night had centred on the belief that we need to get a bit more steel and grit into our game.  However, Eye-Ball maybe took this a bit far, as a rash challenge incensed Deportivo’s big number nine, and sparked an angry scene.  Players from both sides were on hand to avoid Eye-Ball being turned into Peperami soup, with some of the guys volunteering to act as character witnesses.  This was much appreciated, but I really must question Scott’s apparent claim that “He wouldn’t hurt anyone.  He plays the trumpet”.  For starters Scott, it’s a trombone, and if you’d seen some of the things I have at band camp you’d think twice about walking down an alley with a man holding a music stand in one hand and a big lump of brass in the other.  Eye-Ball rightly received a booking, and spent the rest of the game being told by his team mates to calm down.  What really took the biscuit was Sharpy pulling him to one side to warn him of the opposition’s likely attempts to get him sent off.  I don’t know what this place is, but I don’t want to go back!

Once order had been restored, Aveley once again got on with the task in hand and extended their lead when Blakely stuck out an 8 foot long leg to steer Dale’s free kick into the bottom corner.  There is pretty much no doubt that everyone – including Dale – were expecting a shot, which makes Blakey reacting in time somewhat of a miracle.  Having said that perhaps the slide just coincided fortuitously with Blakey decided to take a rest: 0-2.

We haven’t been great at defending set pieces this season, and throughout this match Deportivo looked like scoring from dead balls thanks to their height and superb deliveries.  Apart from this we were keeping them at bay with Foggy only having to tip one shot round the post.  It was from a corner that was well headed home that they got a goal back before half-time, and it could have been worse if Ryan hadn’t cleared another scramble from a corner off the line: 1-2.

What with another headed effort skidding off the top of the crossbar, and Blakey pulling up with a suspected torn hamstring on the stroke of half-time, we were grateful to hear the referee’s whistle and have ten minutes to regroup.

Sharpy made two changes at half time as Robin replaced the injured Blakey, and Jake stepped in for Scott.  It was pretty obvious that the wind was going to cause us as many problems as the opposition in the second half, as Eye-Ball demonstrated with a sliced clearance from 20 yards out which flew straight up in the air before catching in the gale force wind and spinning rapidly towards our goal.  Foggy bravely flung himself into the goal to intervene if required – picking up a dead leg for his troubles – but fortunately the ball dropped just over the bar.  This resulted in one of many corners which we couldn’t afford to concede, and we were punished early in the second half when the run of the striker to the front post was not tracked, and the low corner was flicked into the net: 2-2.

We would have all been gutted to let a two goal lead slip, but we didn’t have to wait long for our spirits to be lifted again.  Now despite scoring 69 goals, it is an indisputable* fact that Eye-Ball has still scored more headers for the club than Dale.  It was therefore a rare and fantastic sight to see number 70 flying in from close range off the hairspray laden bonce of our prolific striker.  To be fair, he hardly had a choice other than to head the ball into the net, given that the outstanding cross from Craig was driven right onto Dale’s barnet: 2-3.

*I say indisputable, but I’d need to check this but I can’t be bothered so would rather just make this wild claim.

One incredible sight was soon matched by another, when Deportivo’s midfielder laced the bouncing ball from 35 yards off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.  There was absolutely nothing Foggy could do – although the dive made this a great one for the cameras – and our lead had been snuffed out again: 3-3.

The chances were coming thick and fast now, with Robin almost becoming the second defender to score in the match, when he stretched but could not quite get enough on a pin-point free kick from Jake from on the half way line, which he dropped onto the six yard box like Tiger Woods pinging a 9 iron within inches of the flag (hopefully that is all Jake and Tiger have in common).

In an incredible ten minute spell, the Accies went from being in danger of losing a game they had dominated to opening up a three goal lead.  First Luke bravely won the ball on the half way line despite the high boot lunging at his head, before playing in Dale.  He raced clear, and when his shot was parried by the keeper Ryan was on hand to score on the second attempt as (for the second week running) his initial header was blocked: 3-4.

Four became five when Ryan rose highest to get something on a corner from the left.  The ball fell backwards into the path of Brian, who capped off a superb performance at the back with arguably his best goal for the club, as he took a touch before lifting the ball through a crowded area into the top corner: 3-5.

It would have hurt Dale to have been pulled off (I mean substituted!) during last week’s game, and having had prolonged discussions during the week with the gaffa, his reaction in this game was magnificent.  He chased absolutely everything, and was even seen defending in our box at one point.  He was a constant threat, and I suspect at least two of Deportivo’s less mobile defenders are still having nightmares about him gliding past them with ease.  The fact that the referee penalised him for diving when the defender gave up any hope of getting the ball and simply barged into Dale was truly shocking.  However, Dale definitely had the last laugh as he made Aveley’s sixth goal when he evaded two defenders to latch onto Eye-Ball’s ball down the line before running in field and shooting from a tight angle.  The keeper got to the ball, but couldn’t keep hold which left James (on for Craig), with the easiest of tap ins (although I for one was still holding my breath given our track record over the last two games): 3-6.

This sixth goal proved to be vital, as we conceded twice in the last ten minutes, from diagonal right to left balls, which curled in towards the goal on the wind, leaving our defence floundering.  The first was scuffed, and somehow looped over Foggy into the net, and the next was brought down with one touch and then slide past Foggy with the next: 5-6.

After all the issues we have had with referees, “ref bashing” is definitely something we shouldn’t get involved in.  However, all you ask is that referees are consistent with their decision making, and treat both teams the same.  During this game it was hard not to feel like we were playing against twelve men at times.  There is no arguing our three bookings, but to see the opposition go unpunished for threatening behaviour, blatant pushes, cynical fouls and for give as much lip to the ref as we did was both unexplainable and unforgivable.  Then at the end of the game it seemed like he was determined to keep playing until the opposition equalised. Sure, it isn’t his fault our defence turned to jelly, but when you say there are four minutes left to play you expect to only have to hold out for roughly that amount of time.  Still, football is all about overcoming obstacles – which takes the right attitude.  Enough said.

Voting for MoTM was tougher than ever this week, with so many players putting in superb performances.  The majority of the votes when to Dale, Ryan, Nick and Brian.  Dale just edged it, and picked up his third award of the season, which is as many as anyone got in the whole of last year.  DoTD was even tougher to choose, with Dale’s 6 yard chance and Foggy being lobbed from 10 yards being two suggestions worthy of note.  However, both these risked taking the gloss of what had been a superb all round performance, so Sharpy nobly fell on his sword and took the award for…shameful eating of a bacon sandwich?  It is actually worth mentioning that Sharpy showed an uncharacteristic level of controlled despite the referee pressing all the wrong buttons, and was even able to be talked out of confronting the man in black following his shocking booking of Foggy when a maul formed on the goal line.  Oh dear, we’re back in that parallel universe…

Next week we are at Belhus again to play Jacks Lads, and will need to show even more grit and determination to extend our winning streak with a number of key players being missing.  I have no doubt we can continue to show what we’re made of.

Eye-Ball

Next game: Sunday 6^th December – Away v Jacks Lads @ Belhus Park

Goal scoring chart