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