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.
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.
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