Aveley Academicals 2 - 2 Stanford Town

On the face of it, this result may not look too impressive.  But when you start to add some context, it soon becomes clear why this was one of the proudest and most inspiring performances of the season.  Just being the first team to take points of the ‘wide boys’ of Stanford town (Aveley SSC’s own groundskeeper Willy’s description) was reason to celebrate.  However, to do so by coming back from 2-0 down with ten men when, in the grand scheme of things losing this game meant nothing, just proved the great character and never-say-die attitude that this current group of players have.  The game also showed that winning all your games might look good for the league table, but does it really make it worth turning up every Sunday to hear your team mates slagging each other off for 90 minutes?  Personally I’d much rather be an Accie.

Although catching Stanford in the league was not possible, Sharpy was treating this game as an important dress rehearsal for the cup semi-final.  We had pushed them close in the first league game, only losing out to a late penalty (you can ask Scott as he seems to have committed the incident to memory), but there had been talk of missing players and hangovers being responsible for us not being on the end of a thumping.  This was therefore a chance to show what we were really made of, and why we hadn’t lost in 12 games since this narrow defeat (Sharpy doesn’t count the extra time cup loss to Staines).  With Foggy again playing Cricket in the indoor nationals (and it turns out getting the Southern Final at Lords – well done mate!), we were grateful to Andrew for stepping in to help us out between the sticks.  It took balls to admit early in the season that doing this every week wasn’t want he wants, and even bigger orbs to come back and answer the call for help.  With Brian missing for family reasons, Sharpy decided to start with Eye-Ball alongside Blakey in the centre which meant a start at left back for Luke.  The squad was boosted by Ryan’s return, but having missed the last two games he had to take his turn on a very strong looking bench.

Subs: Ryan, Rob, Alex

Aveley started brightly, and created the first clear cut chance when Liam flicked on a header which came back to him on the right.  His follow up cross then somehow bounced through H’s legs, who found himself unmarked in the six yard box.  After surviving this early scare, Stanford started to enjoy more of the possession, but every time they tried to play the killer ball forward the well organised and committed Aveley defence either played the oppo offside, covered the danger or put in a crunching tackle to nullify the threat.  A couple of brave and strong challenges from James stick in the memory, as our usually adventurous right back made no complaints about having to concentrate more on defensive duties.  Andrew also showed no signs for rust, as he covered his area well, and was quick off his line to collect any over-hit through ball.

The speed of our counterattack is one of our biggest strengths, and was how we posed our greatest threat in the first half.  With Nick being at his industrious best, breaking up play in front of the back four he could then leave it to H, Mo, Liam and Craig to pick out Dale’s runs and subsequently provide support in attack.  On one such occasion where we got men forward, the ball fell to Craig somewhere near the penalty spot, but his firmly struck effort was parried by the keeper.  Mo followed up, but couldn’t find a way through the crowded area.

Chances were few a far between for both sides in the first half, which explains why a snap shot from Eye-Ball as the ball fell in the area from a long throw is worthy off a mention.  It was actually pretty well struck, and on target, but was straight at the keeper who gratefully caught the ball.

The game really came to life for unfortunate reasons in the 40^th minute.  The pre-match instructions were to get stuck in and show a bit of controlled aggression.  Luke managed 66% of this, but it was just the key element of control that was missing.  A warning for a rash challenge was followed by a harsh booking for a clumsy one, where he tripped and fell into the player rather than really attempting a tackle.  Referees have notoriously good short term memories, and therefore to fly in again within 5 minutes of being booked was not the brightest move (what is it with left backs!), and a second yellow and obligatory red was the end result.  Now Sharpy doesn’t usually need much of an excuse to flare up with the man in black, but when that man is Graham Monk, who has enraged the Gaffa on a number of occasions for no-shows (including the infamous Fence-Gate against Trojans), the slightest wiff on an injustice was going to be all it took for Sharpy to lose it.  You don’t need me to fill in the gaps, but needless to say Sharpy was sent-off and risked ending the match if he didn’t leave the immediate area of the pitch.  Rumours that he spent the rest of the half near the fence with the Trojans manager cannot be verified.

So with no manager and 10 men, it was not looking good. We made it to half time, and after Sharpy’s attempts to get words to the team were met with threats of abandonment, Dale took it upon himself to restore some sense of sanity, and we got our heads back on the now considerable task of making Stanford work for any points whilst fighting to possibly get some ourselves.

With an uphill struggle on our hands, the last thing we needed was to gift Stanford the lead.  So when Stanford spotted Andrew standing on the 18 yard box, seemingly oblivious to the warnings of his team mates, we could only stand in disbelief as the ball was floated over his head straight from the kick-off and into the net: 0-1.

One nil became two nil when a soft free kick was conceded on the edge of the area and the ball was drilled into the top keeper by the centre half: 0-2.

Oh well, game over then.  Half an hour to play, and two nil down with ten men against the team who have won 12 from 12.  You’d think so wouldn’t you, and with most of the teams I’ve played in whilst at this club over the last ten years that would have been the case.  However, this current group of players seem to play with a sense of individual hunger and collective respect and desire for the team which makes any result possible from any position.

Robin took charge of team changes, and made two substitutions with Ryan replacing Craig and Alex coming on for H.  Neither of these changes was reflective of the performance of those being replaced, but Ryan’s aerial presence and ability to hit teams on the break was what we needed in this situation.  In fact, he came close to getting us back in the game soon after coming on when H picked him out with a perfect through ball on the right.  However, it seems his legs may have still been in ‘ski mode’ as the ball flew high and wide of the target.  This was one of H’s last contributions, and having run himself into the ground Alex came on to allow Liam to push into a more advanced role having done a great job covering for his brother.

To be honest, we never looked like we were suffering from a numerical disadvantage, which says everything about the effort the boys in the middle were putting in.  Mo especially put in one hell of a shift, as he on numerous occasions dropped deep to pick up the loose ball before turning the opposition players inside out to create space and a sense of calm which spread through the team as we continued to talk, stay organised and work for each other.  Nick also seemed to win every aerial ball, much to the astonishment of the vertically superior opposition players.

It was therefore just reward that we were given a great opportunity to get back into the game from the penalty spot.  The ball was played into the box on the left and Ryan played a neat little ball to his brother, who was felled from behind as he looked to set himself to shoot.  Dale duly dispatched the perfect spot kick off the inside of the post, and we were back in it: 1-2.

Aveley didn’t try and change anything as a result of this goal, we just continued to defend bravely, and looked to break with pace and directness when we got the ball, and if we could take any chance that was presented we would get what we deserved from the game.  We know that the odds of doing so would be greatly increased if that chance fell to Dale, who had equalled his best ever goal tally for the club of 29 with the penalty (and in 9 fewer games!).  Our prayers were answered, when Nick’s awful free kick (that’s what he thought when he took it) was flicked from the centre of the area to the left by Ryan.  Blakey chested the ball on and Dale reacted quickest to jump and flick the ball with the outside of his right boot past the keeper and into the net: 2-2.

The last ten minutes were negotiated without further incident – apart from Stanford’s skipper knocking himself out against our post, and when the final whistle went, it felt like we had just won the league rather than only taken a point from a game that meant nothing to the league table.  We definitely left with the psychological edge, and surely wiped some of the smugness from the faces of our opposition.  They’ll be the ones losing sleep ahead of the semi-final, so let’s make sure their worst nightmares become a reality.

There were lots of candidates for MoTM, but it was the two centre halves who took the lion’s share of the votes.  The award should really have gone to the partnership, as Blakely and Eye-Ball worked fantastically together at the back as they communicated and took the roles that they were suited to.  Blakey attacked the first ball, and Eye-Ball dropped and stuck like glue to the main striker (to be honest he’s only scored 26 so a much easier ask than the opposition defence had).  Perhaps the last ditch block from six yards out was what swung the votes narrowly to Eye-Ball.  DoTD went to Nick, who got stuck in two minds between throwing long or shorter to Dale, and ended up throwing the ball straight into the chest of the surprised opposition player standing 6 yards away.

Well done boys – you’re all fantastic and let’s keep it up right to the last kick of the season.

Eye-Ball

Goal scoring chart