Whenever we win by such a large margin I’m inevitably asked
by my dad, “What, didn’t the other team turn up?” However dear reader, you shouldn’t let the
score line fool you into thinking this game was a walk in the park. We had to battle hard through the bitter
cold, on a pitch which was better suited to mud wrestling than football
(although we were fortunate to be one of the few games not called off), and
against a good side who we have struggled against in the past. The game developed in a very similar vein to
our last match against West Thurrock: we scored early and never lost the lead
despite being pegged back twice, and pulled away to make the three points safe
in the second half. Dale’s finishing
continues to be quite extraordinary (apparently he is “hot” at the moment) as
he made it back to back hat-tricks, and others in the team chipped in to take
the majority of the opportunities we either created or were handed. We could, and perhaps should have conceded a
couple of late goals, but our opposition demonstrated the consequences of being
wasteful in front of goal. I’m sure
Sharpy would agree that we still haven’t “hit the levels” that he is sure we
can, but with Dale leading the line, and the way we are working for and with
each other there is a real sense of belief running through the team that we can
out-score anyone in this league.
After having to leave Craig out last time, Sharpy was facing
another headache as 18 were expected to turn up for this game. In the end the
pain was eased by two late drop outs, a hangover and a car that needed to be
picked up from the garage. This meant
that despite naming 5 subs, Sharpy knew that he could give everyone who was
willing and able to play a run out. With
the change to 3 in the middle of midfield, with Nick holding, having such a
positive impact in the last match Sharpy decided to continue where we had left
off. This meant a start for Nick, with
Craig replacing Liam on the right and Mo partnering Harry in the middle.
Subs: Jake, James, Liam, Scott, Blakey
With the pitch being so heavy, and the grass so long, both
teams were always going to struggle to play a neat passing game. Therefore, I think on this occasion the odd
up and under could be tolerated, especially when it results in us taking the
lead. Nick intercepted the ball in our
half and hoofed it high into the air.
Dale sensed an opportunity, got in behind the defender, and as the ball
bounced and dropped he jumped, swivelled and lifted the ball over the stranded
keeper and into the net all in one movement, for his first (but not last)
outstanding goal of the game: 1-0.
We are getting quite used to Dale making goals out of
nothing, but the opposition were stunned into a state of shock which only got
worse when the other Kenyon showed that incredible volleys run in the
family. On this occasion Luke’s ball in
was headed back across to the goal by the defender to where Ryan was waiting to
volley the ball in off the post with the inside of his right boot: 2-0.
Mossops did also pose a threat in attack, and their striker
caught us out with his pace to rush clean through the middle and slide the ball
past Foggy: 2-1.
Every season Eye-Ball is languishing somewhere near the
bottom of the goals and assists chart, as based on these metrics he contributes
very little. In fact you have to go back
to the 15th April 2012 for the last time he made a mark on the chart
with an assist. Ironically this was for
winning a penalty, which was converted by the former self-proclaimed “top dog”
Mr Iain Pitney. This match therefore
contained a momentous occasion, as Eye-Ball came away with the ball from a
50-50 challenge, advanced into the opposition half and, thankfully before the vertigo
had set in, spotted Dale arcing a run off the last defender. For once the feet were in the right
configuration and facing in the necessary direction for Eye-Ball to be able to
slide the ball through the gap which Dale had created. Our current “top dog” still had a lot to do,
but did more than enough as he shifted the ball left before blasting it left
footed inside the keeper, off the far post and into the net. It was yet another fantastic finish, which
made for one very happy left back! 3-1.
Frustratingly we allowed some gloss to be taken off our
superb goals again as we conceded a sloppy second, as we completely lost our
shape at the back and left Foggy to be beaten one-on-one for the second time:
3-2.
Having given Mossops a sniff of wiping out our lead for the
second time, we soon moved out of smelling distance again when Dale’s long
throw into the box was met by Harry and about three defenders, the final touch
which took the ball into the far corner of the net probably came off the
defender, but Harry did get a touch and therefore had a big enough influence to
claim the goal: 4-2.
The first half was definitely not our best of the season,
but we still had a two goal margin, and as it turned out – just like against
West Thurrock – this was just a warm up for the main act in half 2.
It’s hard to say what was the biggest contributing factor to
us being so dominant in the second half, but one thing which I think we really
capitalised on was Mossops decision to go to three at the back, with five
across the midfield. This left big holes
in the channels which Ryan and Liam (on for Craig) were exploiting to get
forward and link up with Dale in attack.
I also think the superb cover that Nick was providing in front of the
defence was key to our success (and made him a worthy MoTM), as he prowled from
one touch line to the other, putting in tackles, cutting out through balls and giving
simple balls to Harry and Mo, who were finding more and more space.
Also, Mo came to life after a frustrating first half as he
drove us forward and, along with H (and then his replacement Jake), went in
search of the ball to make sure there was always an easy option for a pass. We also looked a lot better defensively, with
Foggy marshalling the back four from between the sticks and Rob and Brian
cutting out any sniff of danger. James
then slotted in seamlessly for Luke, and just like his predecessor combined
defensive duties with some incisive forward runs. It’s therefore not really a surprise that we
won second half convincingly 3-0 to continue our superb run which now stretches
to 7 unbeaten.
So I suppose you want to hear about the goals? Go on then!
The fifth was an Accies classic, and was beautiful in its
simplicity. Ryan swung in a corner from
the left, and Rob stooped to head the ball into the net from 8 yards: 5-2.
Next up came a comical scene which almost ended up being the
worst punchline to a joke ever:
Q: “How many Kenyons does it take to put the ball in from 6
yards?”
A: “Two. One to
reject the chance of an easy goal so he can pass it to the other for his
hat-trick, who then decides to inspect the gift horse’s tonsils, leaving the
first to scramble the ball over the line.” 6-2.
Whereas Dale had decided not to accept his brother’s
charity, he was more than happy to take it from Mossop’s defenders, as one
attempted to pass the ball to another but only put it into Dale’s path. He then
finished calmly given all the time in the world to decide how to beat the
keeper, and in doing so collect back-to-back hat-tricks (we’re quickly running
out of match balls!): 7-2.
Scoring all these goals, and knowing the game was safe, was
obviously a lot of fun. But I think we
were all glad when the referee blew the final whistle and we could retreat,
with heads held high, to the relative warmth of the changing rooms and
showers. Nick was deservedly awarded
MoTM, and DoTD took a week off (although Sharpy seems to think he had to take
it). This game really underlined what we
can achieve as a squad, and let’s make sure we continue to show the same hunger
and desire as we embark on what will hopefully be a long league cup run next
week.
Eye-Ball
Goal scoring chart
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