Aveley Academicals 3 – 1 Mossops

The Accies extended their unbeaten run to five games with a confident and controlled display against the last team to beat us.  We were determined to make amends for defeat in the season opener at Palmers, when we were short of players (especially sober ones) and well below par.  The fog may have been covering the pitch, but the outlook was much brighter, with 14 players available with strong options in all positions.  Also, it was only Lee suffering the effects of the beer monster on this occasion, and somehow he avoided a DoTD vote despite declaring himself available but highly intoxicated at 5.30 in the morning (after the clocks had been put back). The team were behind Lee, with plenty of offers of a lift, but in hindsight bed was probably the best place for him.

Brian watch:  Bri made it through training on Wednesday, and if the moves he is busting in this video are anything to go by, he should be back in a week or two.  However, it seems like he might have some dental hygiene issues – try some Listerine mate…

https://www.facebook.com/vicky.anne.morris/videos/10210470184853049/

On second thoughts, if his breath could do that to strikers that would be one hell of a weapon (although we might have to check the rule book).
 

I thought it was only women who were meant to suffer from wearing uncomfortable shoes, but the state of Harry’s feet suggests this is becoming a real problem for the modern metro-sexual man.  Despite this, H was determined to test out the knee and with Tony also playing with his tight hamstring and Lewis with his strapped, recently dislocated finger, we were all just praying everyone would hold together for long enough to get us into a good position in the game.

Subs: Martin, Luke C., Scott

The opening fifteen minutes was a pretty tepid affair with both sides sizing each other up, and nobody getting the upper hand.  However, the fact Mossops weren’t able to get control was mainly due to Foggy and H breaking up the play so frequently in the middle.  We also managed to cut out the balls to their dangerous striker more frequently than last time, with Rob being especially determined to be first to everything that was played forward.  I think he may have felt he had a point to prove after their striker basically inferred Rob must only be playing because we were short!

Foggy will claim that haranguing the ref, following his failure to award a free kick after the skipper was trip whilst breaking away, was a ploy to get us fired up, but really the balance finally shifted in our favour when Tony won the ball in the air, and played it into the path of Liam (the kind of link up play that Sharpy would have especially loved to see).  Under pressure from Liam, the defender could only put the ball out for a corner.  Liam put in a great ball to the front of the six yard box, which the defender only half cleared.  Mike was quickest to react, and showed the great touch we’ve come to expect to volley the ball back towards goal, where it took a big deflection to enter the net at the near post.  I was unsighted, but the consensus was that the goal should go down as an O.G., with Mike getting the assist: 1-0.

We were definitely on top now, and could have scored 3 or 4 before the half was out.  Mossops would have been expected to cause us problems from set pieces, but we actually defended everything they threw at us superbly, and even looked a real threat on the counter-attack.  Foggy raced away with the ball from one corner, but when H collected the ball from his skipper inside the opposition box his shot-come-cross went straight to the keeper.  Foggy was involved again when Tony played the ball from the right, and forced the keeper to head clear from outside his area.  Foggy tried to lift it back over the goalie, but applied the wrong percentage of shin.  When Tony and Mike also had good efforts that went wide of the goal, you could have started to think we were going to make this more difficult than it needed to be.

Thankfully the second goal we craved arrived before half time: a clearance from a free kick landed at the feet of H on the edge of the box, and what was meant to be a shot turned into an almighty slice to the right.  However, if you slice the ball into the full back position with the penalty box packed, the one place you definitely want it to end up is with Craig.  His first attempt at a cross was blocked, but he wasn’t going to miss out on a second opportunity to whipped the ball in, and Tony rose unmarked to node home from six yards, for his first (and thoroughly deserve) goal of the season: 2-0.

There really isn’t too much to report from the other end in the first half.  Lewis was well positioned to catch and keep hold of one acrobatic effort, but for the most part the back five were in complete control.  Also, despite taking a huge risk by turning up in fluorescent red boots, James had a solid game and was only the victim of one or two of the type of challenge such footwear usually attracts.

One change was made at half time, with H being replaced by Luke C., who started the second half on the left with Liam moving across to the centre.  This would have been a tough decision given H’s influence on the game, but his knee had been risked enough for one day.

The majority of the second half was spent in search of the elusive third goal which would kill off the game.  The opposition had already shown signs of letting their heads drop, and haranguing was rife.  The last thing we wanted was for them to get a goal back to lift their spirits, and the only clear cut chance they had of doing so was well saved with his legs by Lewis after Mossop’s number nine had slipped between Rob and Blakey for the first and only time in the match.

The Lion’s share of the chances were being created at the other end, but the Accies just couldn’t find a way past the imposing figure of Mossop’s keeper.  Liam and Tony both found him an impassable object when through one on one, and when Eye-Ball won the ball on the half way line and played it forward to Luke C., Mossop’s number 1 was off the line quickly to make a tackle which split opinion as to whether or not he got the ball.  However, we played on and Eye-Ball picked up the loose ball and squared it across the box where it fell to Mike.  Again the keeper was equal to the effort and kept his side in the game yet again.

Tony’s hamstring continued to hold up, and it would have been tested as he kept pace with Liam, who had collected the ball on the edge of our box and raced the full length of the pitch down the right, before playing it inside to our lone striker.  On this occasion his shot went wide of the near post, as did a header that he did well to redirect towards goal.

If Tony’s eye for goal is still not quite there, it doesn’t really matter when he can play a pass like the one that led to the Holy Grail that was the third goal.  He picked the ball up on the right from Luke’s throw-in, and ran with it across the box.  When he seemed to have run out of options, he pulled off a killer ball inside the left fullback for Scott (on for James and playing on the left) who ran in on goal.  Having seen the issues his team mates had experienced with beating the keeper, he did the only sensible thing and squared for Liam to have a go.  With the goal at his mercy, Liam wouldn’t have wanted to give the keeper a chance of saving his effort, but his hand wasn’t enough to stop the ball crossing the line and hitting the back of the net: 3-0.

The defence deserved for the game to finish with a nil in the against column, but Scott was to have as big an impact at our end as he had at the opposition’s, where he had a ricochet that nearly went in off his nose, and a drive from all of 35 yards that he reckoned would have troubled the keeper if Craig hadn’t been in the way, to add to his assist.  In our penalty box, he was harshly adjudged (by Eye-Ball) to have handled the ball when it was smashed goal wards from close range.  It turns out it was actually Mike who was penalised - I don't know, some people are such sticklers for detail.  The resultant penalty was calmly dispatched: 3-1.

By this point Martin had replaced Tony, and just like last week he was finding himself in good positions to score.  On one occasion he drew a good save from the keeper, and on another Liam perhaps should have crossed to him for a tap in rather than going for goal himself.  He also earned his first DoTD award for an audacious attempt at Pelé at the far post which would only have been even more comical if the ball had actually made it anywhere near him.

So although the score line should have looked a lot more like a rugby score, we have to be very pleased with our performance and the way we approached this game.  There was a clear winner for MoTM, with Craig continuing his good run in the team with one of his best performances for the Accies.  We all know that Craig has arguably the best feet in the team, which he demonstrates as the ball is attracted to them by some invisible force whenever it comes near him.  However, in this game he showed he can also get stuck in with the physical side, as he challenged for headers and eased people off the ball to regain possession.  He looked in complete control of the ball every time he had it, and stubbornly held off players, refusing to move or release the ball until he was ready to.  Then in the second half the tricks and turns started coming out, and I’m sure some of the opposition were scared to go anywhere near him through fear of being made to look stupid.  It really was a joy to watch at times, and I’m just glad I don’t have to try and dispossess him.

 

 

Well done boys for another great team performance, and a thoroughly deserved 3 points which moves us up to fifth in the table.  Every week is going to be a new, and equally tough challenge, so let’s make sure we’re up for it again.

Eye-Ball

Goal scoring chart

St Clere’s U21 0 – 3 Aveley Academicals (Essex Junior Cup 2nd round)

Writing a story is pretty simple; you just need a beginning, a middle and an end.  However, to write a good story you need to add some additional ingredients: some tension; a cliff hanger; an unexpected twist.  As this game didn’t have any of these, I’m not even going to try and turn it into an epic.  Basically, in the beginning the referee blew his whistle to start the game, in the middle the Accies dominated against weaker opposition (who made it easier for us by only have ten men) and scored three goals, and at the end the whistle once again blew to signal our advancement into the 3^rd round of the Essex Junior Cup.

In a break from tradition, I’m going to start with the Goal Scoring Chart, because it really tells the story of this game.  For a start it doesn’t mention the opposition at all, which is fine as they’re not part of this story (actually I’m not sure they’d even get a collective mention on the credits). For most of the 90 minutes they were just obstacles who we had to crawl under, round and through on route to the goal.  That might sound a little harsh on a young side, who may have been lambs to the slaughter with eleven players, but with only ten it was like they had been slow cooked to perfection and smothered in ketchup.  It also names 20 players, of which 19 were there (I think we can excuse Dale), including 3 who were either injured or ineligible to play.  This is absolutely fantastic, and even though it’s not shown on the chart, attendance does count towards position for those who don’t trouble the goals and assists columns.   Add some considerable additional support (at least 4 fans) and we had possibly our biggest (and definitely most vocal) support since the cup final of 2012.

With Tony pulling up in the warm-up, this did make acting manager Liam’s job a little easier, although he could still only make three subs out of the four available and fell on his sword for the team.

Subs: Luke C., Liam, Martin, Bobby

So in a game that presented far more opportunities to progress up the table than I can ever hope to remember, who were the biggest winners and losers I hear you cry? 

The winners

Undoubtedly the biggest winner of the day was Foggy. A perfect hat-trick and a third MoTM performance of the season moved Captain Fantastic up nine places to the top of the leader board, and meant he has already surpassed his previous best tally of 2 goals in 2014/15.  No one exploited the one man advantage better, as Foggy followed the space and ran the show for most of the match.  His first goal followed a great bit of keep ball, which was synonymous of the opening 10 minutes, and ended with Scott passing the ball to Foggy on the edge of the area, who then floated it with his left foot over the keeper and into the top corner.

Foggy’s second was from a throw in by Lee on the left.  The ball was launched in flat and through a crowd of bodies, Foggy arrived late to dive and head the ball into the net.  The perfect hat-trick was then completed with an unstoppable right footed penalty – struck low to the keeper’s right – after another throw in from Lee was handled by the defender in the box.

Now I know Dale finds it hard to believe that Foggy scored one goal, let alone a perfect hat-trick.  Therefore to remove any shadow of a doubt, I have got hold of the following artist’s impression of the second goal:

Even more unbelievable is that we should have seen the front flip celebration (although slightly degraded by the use of hands) twice more either side of the penalty.  First Foggy was put through by Luke A., but with the perfect hat-trick on his mind, the skipper tried to lift the ball over the keeper with the outside of his right, when the left would have been a much better option.  He was also put through by Lee, and with the goal at his mercy poked the ball wide. 

The other big mover in the rankings was Scott, whose assist for the opener was his first mark on the table.  However, it could have been so much better if he hadn’t aimed for the goal on the far side of the 3G pitch rather than the one that was six yards in front of him, when Lee put it on a plate with a selfless cross when he could have gone alone.  In fact, that goal would have moved him up a whopping 16 places to 4^th. However, to rub salt into the wounds, the DoTD award he received for this miss prevented him from mover one extra place above Sharpy.

The losers (or those who lost out)

The worst thing about people missing chances, is that they take innocent team mates down with them.  Those to suffer most were Lee and Luke A., who played a number of killer final balls that were wasted.  Sometimes a little more selfishness wouldn’t have been frowned upon, in particular when Lee squared for Scott (who was possibly trying to get himself a job as placekicker at the upcoming NFL game at Twickenham), and when Martin played the ball to Luke C. (who’d obviously inflicted some atrocity on the linesman in a former life) who was flagged offside.  The goal was at Martin’s mercy and with the score at 3-0 nobody would have minded him going for glory.  Lee and Luke C. also had great chances one-on-one (both time set up by Luke A.), but both found the keeper too big an obstacle to avoid.

Martin also had a good chance to open his account for the Accies, but the keeper saved well after Eye-Ball had headed the ball into his path in the area.  Craig had a rasping shot that was well saved by the keeper via a deflection, and James played the ball of the first half for Mike who was finding a lot of joy down the channels, but couldn’t quite get round the keeper and last defender.

And the things the stats just don’t show:

Rob being a defensive rock, and giving the striker a torrid time as he was first to pretty much everything, and always came away with the ball.

Lewis having so little to do with his hands, that he ended the game sporting open toed boots that are a must for all sweeper keepers.

James going from the sublime (his through ball) to the ridiculous in the space of five minutes, as he didn’t even come close to troubling the corner flag with a shot from the right.  The most disappointing thing was that the ref didn’t give a five metre line-out.

Tony weeping on the side line as he watched all the chances that went begging, or the balls that those playing in the number nine position couldn’t quite get on the end of.

Scott being a true gentleman by giving up his shirt, and in doing so depriving us of the amusement of watching Bobby harangue the ref in an XXL shirt.

Luke receiving a lecture from H about discipline after he kicked the ball way in frustration having been flagged offside for the umpteenth time, despite being in a perfect position on the left to gaze lovingly into the linesman’s eyes – perhaps it wasn’t his flag he was raising.

Captain Foggy and Vice-Vice-Captain Blakey (or was it Bublé?) being stopped dead in their tracks: the first by his considerably bigger opposing captain, and the second by a trip following a mazy run from defence.  Both incidences were greeted with much joy and amusement by the adoring fans, and fortunately one of them must have been composed enough to have the camera rolling:

There is almost certainly a lot of stuff I’ve missed, and although it could be argued that we should have shown more of a killer instinct, and certainly that we will need to be far more clinical in the weeks to come, it was actually refreshing to be able to relax and enjoy the game without the pressure of the final result being in any doubt.

The next round will be an away trip to either Prettygate (Colchester) or Latchingdon (Chelmsford) and is certain to be a much tougher game, but with the same amount of belief, team spirit and support there is no reason we can’t get even further in this competition.

Eye-Ball

Next game: Sunday 30^th October @ Home v Mossops.

United Ockendon 1 - 3 Aveley Acadmemicals

Carlsberg don’t do team mates, but if they did they would probably be the second best team mates in the world, after the fine specimens playing for the Accies.  Not only did all the players who made it onto the pitch fight tooth and nail for each other, to grind out our first league in of the season, but those on the side-line were thoughtful enough to deploy the plastic bags as the heavens opened in the second half, thus ensuring there were no soggy pants and socks being pulled on in the changing rooms.

With Liam being away, H still struggling with his knee, and injuries sustains last week to Brian and Luke C. (although he was away anyway) Sharpy couldn’t afford any more withdrawals and the rest of the boys didn’t disappoint.  In fact, the gaffa felt confident enough with two subs to not worry about pulling his socks up.  With plenty of options, he chose to try 4-3-3 again, with Tony as the main front man, Craig and Mike out wide and Foggy, Bobby and Lee making up the midfield.

Subs:  Scott, Luke A.

I could be accused of cutting and pasting from many previous match reports by saying that we started slowly, but once again there isn’t really any other way to put it.  A young Ockendon side looked to have more energy, and caught us a bit cold in the opening 10 minutes with their running in and outside the channels.  However, it was still under controversial circumstances that our opposition took the lead, as Eye-Ball raced back just inside the area to deal with one of these through balls, and was deemed by the referee to have taken the man before the ball as he slid in to make the challenge.  Everyone (including the striker involved in the tackle) thought it was a contender for tackle of the season, but the referee had a different opinion, and at the end of the day his is the only one that really matters.  No further action was taken against Eye-Ball, but the penalty was dispatched, and we were facing an uphill battle before the game had even really started: 1-0.

In one way, to concede in such a way was just the boost that was needed, as the injustice seemed to galvanise the Accies.  We settled into a rhythm and took control of the midfield and hence the game.  We seemed to be happy to be patient, with Lee, Foggy and Bobby keeping possession and moving it along the line to bring Craig and Mike into the game, who always had an option inside if they needed to change the direction of play.  The dynamism of the midfield was also evident when Lee found himself furthest forward to receive a pass from Foggy inside the box.  Lee’s initial effort was blocked by the keeper, but it fell back at the feet of the new boy, who had an open goal to aim for.  The angle was a little tight, and Lee’s aim was off as he could only glance the far post, where Mike was agonisingly close to turning the ball in.

Lee’s blushes were spared by an unlikely ally: Craig picked up the ball on the left and turned towards goal.  Everything Craig does with a football is unrushed, composed and an attempt at the sublime, and his deft touch with the outside of his right boot around the defender, and into Bobby’s path was no exception.  Bobby was able to glide forward with the ball, and his own great touch behind the defensive line was poked past the keeper by the defender, who was obviously panicked by Tony’s close attention.  It was suggested in the pub that Bobby could be credited with the goal, but the Dubious Goals Committee has to take previous decisions into consideration, and for consistency and fairness Bobby can only be awarded the assist, given the defender’s significant contribution in putting the ball in the back of the net: 1-1.

The Accies had their tails up now, and came close to taking the lead when James curled in a delightful cross which Tony attacked but could only head over.   Blakey also went on a mazy run from centre half which got the crowd excited, but ultimately led to nothing apart from a hasty retreat back to the defence.

At the other end, Lewis was fairly untroubled.  Ockendon’s main threat was from set pieces, with one cross into the box almost being converted, but fortunately the player who met the ball could only turn it onto the top of the bar under pressure from Lewis.  Ockendon had one other break from one of our corners, when they should of scored with Eye-Ball isolated 2-on-1.  The man with the ball decided to take it on himself, and in an attempt to lift it over Lewis, he could only float it into the grateful hands of the keeper.

The one blow, to what was otherwise a good end to the half, was Tony being forced off with a hamstring injury.  With no strikers in reserve, Lee was asked to lead the line, with Luke A. coming on in midfield.

The second half was a combative and hard fought affair, with neither side giving away many chances and big challenges flying in.  Ockendon continued to only look like scoring from set pieces around our box, where we didn’t show enough discipline.  There was also ‘Handball-Gate’ when Lewis was accused of dragging the ball back into his area with his hand before picking it up.  Lewis says it was on the line, and fortunately the referee agreed with him rather than the oppo linesman who was perfectly placed all of 60 yards away.

The best of the chances came at the other end, where Lee was working his socks off to hold up the ball and bring others into play.  Mike was his main outlet on the right, as the natural winger seemed to be endlessly running up and down the channels, and always had a quality touch to lay off the ball to Foggy or Bobby before running down the line to be an option.  The dynamic was a little different on the left were Luke A. and Craig were looking to work some space to either move the ball across field or directly up to Lee.  Even Robin went on a marauding run which matched Blakey’s effort in the first half, and perhaps could have had a fairy tale ending if he had chosen to shoot from the edge of the box rather than try a through ball.

Despite all our possession and sustained pressure, there was only one really clear cut chance in the first 35 minutes of the second half.  Foggy had assumed the role of the most advanced central midfielder (or perhaps he was just the one with the most left in the tank), and found himself engaged in a neat interchange with Lee on the edge of the box.  After a few passes Foggy played the final ball through, and Lee had only the keeper to beat.  Unfortunately he could only fire straight and the big man between the sticks, and the chance was gone.

Lee should have had the chance to redeem himself soon after when he was upended in the box, but the referee didn’t feel he was in a good enough position to give it.  When he then had to wave away a similar appeal up the near the other box, the man in black threw in the white flag and said he “could no longer fulfil his duties.”  We thought he’d had too much haranguing for one day, when in fact his back was giving him so much jip that he just couldn’t keep up with play.  That could have been it, but with both sides feeling that they were in with a chance of snatching a win in the last 8 minutes, nobody wanted it to end.  Thankfully a dad of one of Ockendon’s players stepped up and said he would see us through to the end.

It was the Accies who struck the decisive blow when Eye-Ball won back the ball deep in the left back position and played it into the vacant space up the line.  Luke A. was first to the ball, and turned before lifting a peach of a pass over the top which was only matched by the quality of Lee’s run.  As the defender came across to make a good challenge at the same time as the keeper had come out to meet Lee’s run, it seemed like another opportunity was gone.  However, Lee wasn’t about to give up, and with keeper and defender out of the picture he picked up the loose ball on the left and fired low into the net from an angle that was just as difficult as the one in the first half: 1-2.

The euphoria created by this goal rivals that resulting from Liam’s winner in the Essex Cup.  With the league looking so tough, every win is going to be precious – especially from tight games like this.   The emotions ranged from relief, to outright hysteria; cue H forgetting his injury and charging onto the pitch to join in the celebrations.  The only question now was whether we could hold out, and everyone was fully committed to this cause.  In particular Scott (on for Craig – who had emptied the tank) and Mike relinquished any thoughts of attacking as they sat deep to help the defence with some decisive interventions.  The defensive unit was functioning well, and Ockendon were restricted to speculative long range efforts which didn’t trouble Lewis.

The win was made safe with two minutes to go, when Robin launched a free kick for offside into the opposition half.  Lee reacted quicker than the tired defenders, and raced clear.  It’s amazing how much bigger the goal seems once you’ve got on the score sheet, and Lee had no difficulty in finishing smartly across the keeper and into the far corner: 1-3.

And so it was that Aveley Academicals picked up their first league win of the season, and in doing so got revenge for the defeat inflicted by United Ockendon at the end of last season.  This performance showed that we are more than capable of being competitive in this league, but also that we can’t afford to be below our best, or give less than 100% in any game and still get a result.  This was a tough test against a young and physical side, but we displayed great character and, it could be argued, greater fitness and determination to keep going right to the end.  There was a lot of pride evident at the end of this game, and there is no reason we can’t experience that feeling every week, even if the score line isn’t quite as sweet as on this occasion.

There were well deserved votes for Lee and Bobby, but Eye-Ball just edged it for MoTM on this occasion.  I’m not quite sure what people were thinking, but perhaps there was a bit of solidarity for the inexplicable penalty decision, and some extra points for style and landing following a crunching 50-50 challenge which saw the full-back execute a double somersault with pike.   Whatever the reasoning, this was definitely an award that could have been awarded to the whole team (although Sharpy does need to collect some subs).  I’m not sure if there was a unanimous decision on DoTD, but it would only have been a tongue-in-cheek selection, as no one deserved that accolade.

Eye-Ball

Goal Scoring Chart

Next game: Sunday 23rd October - Away @ St Cleres v St Cleres U21 - EJC Rd 2

Aveley Academicals 0 - 0 Trojans

On reflection the Accies would have left happier with a point than Trojans, from a game that will be remembered for a hat-full of miss chances, with Trojans clearly coming out top on this particular metric.  Still, better it be remembered for this reason rather than as an ill-tempered encounter; thankfully everyone kept their cool and for once the football was left to do the talking.

I love the story of Harry Redknapp rushing to the airport to prevent Amdy Faye from boarding a plane to France, so that he could convince him to sign for Portsmouth.  Apparently he took Amdy back to his house, and pretty much told him if he didn’t sign he’d set his bulldogs on the Senegalese midfielder.  Now, I’m not sure Sharpy has that much in common with ‘Arry (apart from both being about a 3), but his persistence in trying to convince Lee Henry to join the Accies finally paid off as he agreed to help bolster the squad following the last minute withdrawal of Blakey and Scott.  Apparently this intrepid duo had got stuck on a train home from Southend, but before you think of showing any sympathy, they hadn’t boarded it until about half past 6 in the morning, so even if they had got back in time it’s unlikely they would have been in any fit state to play.  However, we know that the squad is light as it is, and adding a quality and versatile player like Lee (and a 7-8 at that) can only be a good thing.  Incredibly the position where we have the most options was once again where we were shortest, with Foggy standing in for Lewis in goal, Bobby away for the weekend, Harry carrying a knock and Regal & Eugene sleeping on a train.  This meant Lee was asked to slot into midfield alongside Luke A., with Craig playing a more advance role.  Tony made a welcome return to slot into the striker position, and make his first competitive start.

Subs: Luke C., Harry

*players on debut

Scott:  "Oh sure Blakey, you're definitely a solid 7"

It was a pretty cagey first half, with neither side wanting to commit too many men forward through fear of being caught on the break.  Chances were few and far between, with Trojans’ best bet seeming to be hoping their rapid front man could get clear of Brian and Robin through the middle.  On most occasions the defenders were equal to this, and on the odd occasion Trojans came out on top, they either fired high and wide, or Foggy was able get everything behind the ball and nullify the threat.

The best two chances for the Accies came from Tony’s good work down the right.  Work commitments mean that we’re only going to have available for four weeks in eight, but he is a great asset to the team when he is available.  With his pace, strength and persistence he is going to be a handful for any defence, and it was really through persistence that he created our first chance. He bulldozed through the defence after latching onto Luke A.’s through-ball, before directing the ball to the far post.  Liam made it to the ball, but maybe wished he hadn’t as he could only direct it wide from point blank range, and he received a smack on the head from the post for his troubles.

Tony and Luke A. obviously have a good understanding from years of playing together, as the latter seemed to instinctively know that Tony would be expecting to charge onto a ball played inside the left full-back.  Tony left the defender for dead as he angled his run into the box, but a slightly heavy touch meant that he had less time and space than he would have like to slot the ball past the keeper, who was able to make the save.

The half ended on a sour note, with Brian – who had been excellent up to that point in keeping Trojans’ striker on a leash – being pick up by James like a sack of potatoes and carried off with a bad looking hamstring injury.  With fewer options at centre back than we should have had (did I mention that Blakey was stuck on a train?) Eye-Ball had to move across to centre-back, and Luke C. game on at left back.  Luke almost had a disastrous introduction, as his first touch was taken under pressure following a pass from Foggy and possession was lost.  Fortunately Foggy was quick off his line to clear the danger, and in doing so he came really close to scoring (hitting the bar on the adjacent pitch).

With so little to choose between the two sides, it’s no surprise that the game developed some extra urgency in the second half as both teams went in search of the precious goal that was likely to earn all 3 points.

It’s fair to say that Trojans had the best of the chances, and if it hadn’t been for Foggy’s heroics between the sticks we would probably still be waiting for our first point of the new season.  The two stand-out interventions were from one-on-one situations, when Trojans’ players found themselves clean through on the goal.  One the first occasion our makeshift defence was breached, and as the striker tried to play it round Foggy as he rushed off his line, a strong left hand was deployed to redirect the ball around the post.  On the second occasion, a hopeful clearance from an Accies corner looked like it was going to be easily dealt with by James.  However, he seemed to get caught in about five minds, and in the end seemed to suffer cranial overload, as he fell to the floor to give the striker a clear run on goal.   Foggy charged out to close the angle, and bravely threw himself at his opponent, who could only shoot wide under the pressure. The two players collided, and Foggy face-planted the hard turf, leaving him with a nice abrasion on the nose, and reducing him from a nailed on 7.5 to a fairly average 4. 

When you consider that Trojans also hit the inside of the post, and blazed another chance over, you’d think they’d probably be kicking themselves when they look back at the final score.  Saying that, they’d probably miss if they tried that as well!

Although we had to dig in and battle hard for most of the half, it wasn’t all one way traffic.  H (who replaced Luke A. midway through the half) got himself goal side of the defender in the area, but could only lift his effort into the keepers arms.  Lee – who seemed to be everywhere on the pitch – also saw a header come back off the bar, with Mike’s well struck follow up being unable to find its way through a wall of bodies.  Craig also managed to get away a couple of shots on the turn which had the keeper sweating as they flew just the wrong side of the upright.

And so it was that we had to settle for a well-earned point, which has to be a positive given the changes Sharpy was forced to make to the side both before and during the match.  He deserves credit for both this fact, and also for being a relatively quiet bystander despite the pre-match warnings that the oppo were going to try and unleash the green monster.  Sharpy was actually so quiet that he could have been standing right over by the fence…

Already every team in div 2 except Scruttons (who have only played one game) have dropped points, which goes to show how competitive this league is going to be.

Foggy was a clear winner of MoTM, as he basically earned us a point with an all-round faultless display in goal.  He may have done his looks no favour in the process, but hopefully the commendations and respect of his team mates made up for this (a 10 for performance has to be more important than a 7.5 on the fit-o-meter).  DoTD was closesr than it’s been in a long time – and H wasn’t in the running!  James’s slip just pipped Liam’s miss to the prize, with Sharpy casting the deciding vote.

This was a gutsy performance that we should be proud of, and I’m sure we can go one better next week and get our first win in the league.

Goal scoring chart

Next game: Sunday 16th October - Away @ Thames R.C v United Ockendon

Talwin F.C. 4 – 5 Aveley Academicals (Essex Junior Cup 1st Round)

I’ve always maintained that you only really learn what a team is made of when they are losing, which therefore makes the way this game panned out ideal to demonstrate the character, determination and team spirit that the Accies possess.  For approximately three quarters of this match we were behind, and especially when the third Talwin goal went in to make it 3-1 inside 35 minutes, it would have been all too easy to admit defeat.  However, a second half that we completely dominated and won by four goals to one, just goes to show that belief and desire can turn a game on its head and get you through to the next round of the cup.

With a few more options in midfield this week (including Bobby, who made the early drive back from his sister’s wedding in Braintree), Sharpy conceded to the demands to try a 4-3-3 formation.  The player asked to fill the gaping hole where the striker should be was H, who would have been hoping to roll back the years to the time when he arrived on the scene fresh faced and full of enthusiasm to become the Oaks’ top goal scorer (2011/12).

Subs: Craig, Luke A., Sharpy

In the first half hour, the Accies really did not look at the races.  Our opposition from Canvey Island looked more comfortable on the ball, were dogged out of possession, seemed to want the ball more and prevented us from getting into any sort of rhythm.  It could be argued that all the three goals we conceded in the first half were soft, but on the balance of play it was probably what we deserved.  However, the signs were always there that getting back into the game was not beyond us, as plenty of chances were created – and went begging – in a very open first half.

Talwin took the lead when a corner on their left too easily led to a shooting opportunity being created from inside the box.  The shot may have been half blocked, or the hit into the ground, but Lewis would have been disappointed to only parry to the ball to the striker who had time to drill the ball home: 1-0.

Lewis’s arrival this season has had a major impact on the team, as not only does it give us another quality keeper, but it also relieves Foggy (our quality yet reluctant keeper last season) to play an influential role in running the midfield.  To compare Foggy and Lewis is like comparing Joe Hart and Claudio Bravo.  Foggy dominates the box, and is great coming off his line and claiming anything in the air, whereas Lewis’s strongest attributes are his shot stopping and ball skills, which make him a great option for starting moves from the back or giving the defence an option to get out of trouble.  Lewis displayed his shot stopping ability to keep the score at 1-0 by diving to his right and tipping a ball which bounced awkwardly in front of him away from the goal.  He then got up quickly to block the attempted cross from the rebound.  Whilst I have compared our two keeping options to Man City’s current and former No. 1’s, it should be made clear that I’ve never seen Foggy with any Head & Shoulders, and I’m not sure about Lewis’s Spanish - buen señor del bigote! 

Whilst there was no doubt we were the second best side in the first half, there were enough promising signs in the final third to suggest that we could score some goals, especially with H finding space and getting onto a number of through balls.  It’s just a shame that it’s been so long since he’s had to wear his shooting boots, which is why we can’t really blame him for missing so many chances in front of goal.  Still, his influence extended beyond the final shot, as he showed in the build up to our equaliser; helping the ball down the line to Liam, who crossed first time with his left into the middle of the box, where Mike arrived just at the right time to volley the ball into the far corner with his left.  Mike has done a job up top without complaint when asked, but it’s clear that he’s much happy running onto the ball either down the line, or making a late run inside, and with the quality of his delivery we’re going to have a lot of joy this season if we can get men in the box: 1-1.

It has to be said that this goal came against the run of play, and Talwin responded as we failed to clear the ball from inside the box after it had been played in following a throw-in down their right.  The ball fell at the feet of Talwin’s midfielder, who lashed it through the crowd into the far corner: 2-1.

It has already been mentioned that H was struggling to finish his dinners despite trying a range of earthenware (which would surprise anyone who saw him at that first training session in July), and when he placed the ball wide with the goal at his mercy we wrongly though it couldn’t get any worse.  Not long after, H did brilliantly to beat the offside trap, and bring the ball down before lifting it over the on-rushing keeper.  Unfortunately H’s reaction on seeing the ball bounce off the crossbar was the turn around and put his hands on his head.  If he had kept his eyes on the ball he would have seen it practically drop back at this feet with the goal empty.  Both Liam and Foggy did try to rectify the situation, but neither of them could find a way to goal.

Talwin then rubbed salt into the wounds, as they caught us out with the classic “midfielder runs through the middle whilst everyone else is pushing up” trick, to race onto the through ball and slot home past a helpless Lewis: 3-1.

Talwin’s biggest combined threat was the linkup between their clever forward and tricky right winger, and when the former pulled his hamstring during a challenge with Brian some of the pressure on our back four was definitely eased.  In the last ten minutes of the first half we started to take a bit more control, and grew in confidence towards the end of the half.  Bobby was given a rest and was replaced by Luke A., whose eye for a pass showed that unleashing Liam in behind the cumbersome frizzy haired fullback was a tactic we should definitely employ in the second 45.

Despite the score line and poor start to the game, the half-time team talk was surprisingly positive.  Sharpy had seen into the future, and it looked bright (even without the oranges).  If only his optimism in his eight fold accumulators would repay him in the same way the Accies did.

The change in the second half was almost instant, as we played with confidence, determination and a new found belief.  To top it off, H finally found the back of the net to get us right back in the game, as he latched on to Mike’s through ball, and lifted it over the keeper and under the bar: 3-2.

We were completely in control now, and had pretty much taken up squatters’ rights in the opposition half.  Now everyone wanted the ball, and we were happy to play it from the back and search patiently for the opening.  This new approach was epitomised by the fantastic equalising goal, as the ball was played back to Brian in the left back area and across the centre circle to Robin. It was gradually worked forward until Foggy made the decisive run towards the penalty area. The skipper drew the defender before poking the ball out to Liam on the left.  He took one touch inside before lifting the ball over the keeper and into the far corner: 3-3.

Talwin were now chasing shadows, and looked drained of energy and ready to throw in the towel.  Sharpy saw this as a perfect opportunity to make use of the Essex cup rolling subs rule by giving Robin a well-earned break, dropping Blakey into defence and injecting some extra energy into midfield in the shape of Bobby.   This enabled Foggy to drop back into his favoured holding role, where he could pick up the ball and control the pace and direction of play.  We created countless chances over the next ten minutes to take the lead, but H obviously hadn’t completely shifted the shooting affliction he had suffered with in the first half.  It also seemed to be catching, as Liam fired straight at the keeper when put clean through by Craig, who was displaying some great touches and vision after coming on for Luke A.

Blakely was then controversially denied his second goal of the season when a scramble at the back post from a corner appeared to end with the centre back poking the ball over the line and into the side of the net.  However, the referee ruled otherwise and Talwin got the ball to safety.

The defence hasn’t had much of mention in the second half, as they were relatively untroubled for most of the time.  Talwin’s makeshift striker tended to drift to our right, where Luke C. and Brian had him in their pockets, and Blakey was as commanding as ever in marshalling the back line.  Other than dealing with a dodgy back pass from Eye-Ball, the only shot of note that Lewis had to deal with resulted in giving Talwin an unexpected lead, when a long ball over the top saw Talwin’s player somehow emerging with the ball when sandwiched between Brian and Blakey.  His shot flew over Lewis and into the net, despite the keeper getting a hand to it: 4-3.

It would have been easy to let our heads drop at this point, but it was great to see the belief in our ability to get a result in the last fifteen minutes was still evident.  H had run himself into the ground by this point, which meant Sharpy had the opportunity to show us how a number 9 should do it.

Bobby is a new member of the squad who is already making quite an impact, despite having been out of the game for a number of years.  We’re therefore still to see the best of him, but his energy, quick feet and terrier like qualities make him another great asset in the middle of the park.  However, given his diminutive stature, popping up unmarked on the penalty spot to head the ball in off the far post from Liam’s excellent corner was not what any of us would have expected: 4-4.

The Accies had their tails up now, and were pushing for the winner.  None of us wanted extra time and penalties, but with the clock slowly ticking down to full time this looked like the most likely outcome.  Thankfully Sharpy and Liam had other ideas, as the former flicked the ball on towards the left side of the penalty box and our mercurial winger swivelled and caught the ball sweetly on the volley, sending it low, across the keeper and just inside the far post: 4-5.

It truly was a fantastic strike, and a worthy game winner, as we held on for the last 5 minutes to a lead we had been searching for the previous 85.  Our passage to the second round was secured, and with it our first competitive win of the new season.  Well done lads, we showed fantastic team spirit and belief there.  Just let’s try it for 90 minutes next time!

MoTM wasn’t quite unanimous, but Liam was a clear winner having been involved in four of our five goals.  He really seems to be relishing stepping into the vacant left wing position since Ryan decided to move on, and his work rate and willingness to run at people and get back to help in defence is a superb example to us all.  DoTD once again didn’t have any obvious winners, which means H once again gets the vote.  For arguments sake let’s say it’s for multiple misses, including turning away when the rebound fell at his feet and the goal was at his mercy.

Goal scoring chart

Given the worry about where goals were going to come from, it’s great to see five different goal scorers on the chart already.

Next game: Sunday 9th October @ Home v Trojans