Aveley Academicals 0 – 4 Stanford Town (Ted Fairchild Cup 3rd round)

OK, so it would have been nice to have got revenge against a team we had ‘previous’ with from last season, but things have moved on, the result was pretty unimportant in the context of our season and we’ve got much bigger games in the league and league cup to come.  It was refreshing that the game was played in a competitive but good spirit, which just goes to show that neither club held a grudge or wanted a repeat of the last cup match between these sides.  Stanford are more than holding their own in Premier league, and provided us with another really tough test which was on par with the challenge posed by Hanningfield the previous week.  Whilst it’s hard not to be disappointed with the score line, the Accies never let their heads drop and kept battling right to the whistle.

With some key players missing through injury and unavailability, and with no risks being taken, others had the opportunity to stake their claim for a starting position.

Subs: Terry, James

Whilst we worked hard when we didn’t have the ball, the problem was that we got far too much practise at this particular discipline.  When we had the ball we really struggled; it just seemed that we were far too static and quiet in possession.  It’s hard to take a man seriously when he turns ups on a freezing cold, rainy Sunday morning to spectate wearing shorts and a knee length sleeping bag, but as he’s the club captain I suppose we should listen to him.  Foggy’s main observation was that we were not compact enough.  By which I think he means that when we had the ball, the man with it was isolated and lacking options – both obvious ones and the desire from team mates to make themselves available.  When we didn’t have it, the fact we were so spread out meant our opposition could easily find the room they wanted.  Passes were being rushed – and subsequently misplaced – or the ball was just being kicked away without any real target.  I know this all sounds really negative, but it’s only worth saying because people were mainly screaming insults at themselves, through the frustration that they expect much better of themselves.

We’ve had a tough run of games, and when mistakes are punished as harshly as they were this week and last, players can lose the confidence to try and keep hold of the ball.  But I think we’d all agree that no one is going to get on anyone’s back for trying to play the way we want to, and we can only get better by getting things wrong once in a while.  Each of Stanford’s four goals can be linked to individual or team errors, but you still need to take your hats off for the quality of the finishing.  For the first, we were too slow to close down the striker on the edge of the area, and he bent the ball into the far bottom corner.  The second saw the ball squirm under Luke C.’s foot on our right, which allowed the winger to take possession and make the opposite corner of the net bulge from just inside the box.   In the second half, Eye-Ball’s attempted pass to Bobby was intercepted on the half way line, and one pass later and the striker had glided past Brian and rolled the ball under Lewis.  The fourth came as tired legs couldn’t get the ball clear around a crowded penalty area, and as we were outnumbered our opposition were able to pass through us and walk the ball into the net.

In the first half we rode our luck, and if it hadn’t been for the posts, some timely interceptions by Blakey and Brian, and a fine save from Lewis to prevent the ball flying into the top corner, our opposition could have been out of sight by half time.  As it was we were still in the game after the first 45 minutes, and if we had taken some of chances, and Stanford’s keeper had not been on such top form, the result may have been quite different.

The best chances of the first half included a near post header by Eye-Ball from Liam’s corner, which was directed towards goal but sailed way over the bar.  Eye-Ball was in the thick of it again as a pull back from Liam in the box unexpectedly turned into a one two with the full-back, and Liam was felled by the keeper on the bye-line.  Nothing was given, but on another day the referee could have pointed to the spot.  Then Dale warmed the keeper’s gloves from a tight angle when he volleyed Harry’s looping cross back across the goal.

Arguably our best chances came in the second half, and when Liam played the ball through for Dale, it appeared that we would be back in the game at 2-1 and chasing an equaliser.  However, Dale’s superb turn and first time shot with the outside of his right boot was only bettered by the keeper’s fine reactions to keep the ball out.  It that save was good, the save from Brian was out of this world.  The box was crowded, but Terry found another way to get the ball through to Brian, by lifting it over the defender. Brian let the ball bounce once before unleashing it high towards goal, but somehow the keeper got the slightest of touches to the ball and deflected it onto the crossbar and out for a corner.  There were also a couple of free kicks, the first of which Dale would like to forget as the ball was sliced well wide of the goal, and then Craig rattled the crossbar from a similar position.

So it wasn’t a great day at the office, but the character of all the players cannot be faulted.  In particular, James’s contribution as a late substitute deserves some attention, especially as it’s rare to earn a MoTM vote having been on the pitch for so little time.  He came on to play on the left side of midfield, and being unshackled from the responsibilities of defending looked to run the ball down the line at every opportunity.  He really should have scored as well, when Dale got the ball across into the box and James found himself with the ball right in front of goal.  Perhaps he should have leathered it first time, but instead he tried to take a touch, and now a little off balance he could only lift the ball harmlessly into the keeper’s hands.  He also put in some tempting crosses, and should have been rewarded with an assist when his measured cross to the back post was met by an unmarked Blakey.  You’d put your house on the big centre half at least finding the target from there, but the ball skimmed off his head and out for a goal kick.

When it came to voting for MoTM, this miss did not deter Blakey’s team mates from giving him the title, for a commanding display which included some great tackles when he looked to be second best in the race to win the ball.  The defence spent a lot of time chasing the ball back towards goal, and our two centre halves had to do the majority of the work, so it is fitting that one of them should get the award. It was a clean sweep for the back four, as Luke C. picked up the DoTD award. I think his below par performance stands out because he has been one of the Accies best and most consistent performers for a number of weeks.  However, when he kept getting out-foxed by a bouncing leather sphere – seemingly unaware of the shouts of “watch the bounce!” – his sudden fall from grace seemed inevitable.

So there isn’t much more to say, apart from that for the second week running the best team won which you can’t really argue with.  The challenge for us it to find the level – which is well within our reach – which would make us the rightful winners against the majority of the teams we are going to face.  It’s only minor things we need to put right, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the results when we do.

Eye-Ball

Next game – Sunday 22nd January – Away @ William Edwards School v Thames Gateway

Goal scoring chart

CORRECTION - I credited Luke A. with the assist for Terry's goal against Thames Gateway, but have been informed the final pass was from James. I'm sure the description is still accurate, and that the ball was 'sublime', and apologies to James for almost stripping him of his first notch on the goal scoring bedpost.

Hanningfield F.C. 3 - 2 Aveley Academicals (aet) (Essex Junior Cup Round 4)

Reflecting on this game brought back memories of more than one 120 minute cup game that I have reported on over the years.  In particular, my mind went back to the penalty lose in the third round of the 2012/13 Essex Junior Cup, when – on a freezing December morning – we sat huddled in an unheated porta cabin thinking that was no way the ref could let the game go ahead on a frozen pitch.  We perhaps didn’t take the competition quite so seriously back then (as the starting line up will testify) but we battled to come back from behind and only lost out when it came to penalties.  The report is well worth a read if only to give mention to one of the current squad choosing to jump ship (we knew he’d be back): http://aveleyaccies.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/dynamo-basildon-3-3-oaks-athletic-aet-5.html

Then there was the 240 minutes in two weeks in 2014/15, and like this game the first of these came at the worst possible time – straight after the Christmas break.  The first game saw us lose again on penalties against Lakeside, and I’d implore Luke A. (and everyone else for that matter) to read this report; especially the second paragraph: http://aveleyaccies.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/lakeside-fc-4-4-clements-athletic-4-2.html (apologies to anyone with an Uncle Derek).   The following week it was the same stage of the Essex Cup as we reached this year, and although the game was quite different, the outcome was the same – a narrow 3-2 defeat with the scores level at 2-2 after 90: http://aveleyaccies.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/valley-green-3-2-clements-athletic-aet.html

Last season we had the infamous grapefruit incident in Rochford, which is largely blamed for us going down 5-3 aet http://aveleyaccies.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/rochford-sports-and-social-5-3-aveley.html, and in the same season we lost 3-2 aet against premiership opposition : http://aveleyaccies.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/staines-utd-3-2-aveley-academicals-aet.html

What all these games show is that, firstly we have a pretty poor record when games go to extra time (in fact the last time we won in a 120 minute game was the famous cup final of the double winning season 2011/12: http://aveleyaccies.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/oaks-athletic-2-0-wilburn-wanderers-aet.html) but also that this club is renowned for fighting to the bitter end, and I’m proud to say that nothing has changed.  However, with two more cup games in the next two weeks, I’d rather not beat our 240 minutes in two games record.

The Accies team bus (metaphorically speaking) rolled into East Hanningfield bright and early at about 9:30.  The signs were not good that we were in the right place, as apart from there being a couple of goalposts roughly 90 yards apart, there was very little other evidence to suggest we were in the right place – unless you wanted to compete in a trail race, walk a dog or attend the local church.  Still, I suppose we should have realised that life is taken at a more sedentary pace in the countryside, and at 10:05 we finally had access to the change rooms and confirmation that there was an opposition to play.  The referee seemed in no more of a rush and the game finally got underway, with the following line-up, at about 10:40.

Subs: Craig, Scott, Terry, Luke A.

We knew nothing about our opposition, but maybe took the old advice of ‘let’s take a look at them’ a little too seriously.  For the first 20 minutes there was only one team giving a lesson in how to play football, and it wasn’t the Accies.  When we didn’t have the ball we gave Hanningfield far too much respect, we were slow to react to their movement and tackles were weak and ineffective.  It was even worse when we did get the ball, as we couldn’t string one let alone two passes together, and kept putting ourselves back into trouble by not giving any options and being far too slow in moving the ball.  Credit to our opposition though, who gained our respect as being a good side, and on balance probably the team that deserved to win based on football alone.  They were all comfortable on the ball, and kept possession well.  When we had the ball they gave us very little time and space, and were hard and clinical in the challenge.  If they had taken more of the chances they created, they could have been home and dry within the 90 minutes.  So the fact that we stuck with them, and even nearly snatched the win at the death shows how tough and committed we were.  Having said all that whenever one of them had a flag in his hand, they were either completely inept at judging offside or were suffering from trigger-happy syndrome.

It’s no surprise that we conceded within the opening period of play, but it was still a little bit of a shock to do so within the first five minutes.  The right winger evaded all attempted challenges and swung in a peach of a delivery, and the striker rose above Luke C. to power the header into the far corner: 1-0.

It wasn’t all one way traffic, and Liam showed that we could trouble the goal at the other end as he broke into the box, and from a tight angle curled the ball just wide of the far post.  Still, it was against the run of play that the Accies found a spectacular equaliser.  A free kick was lifted into the box, and the defender’s attempted clearance only resulted in the ball looping into the air.  With the area still crowded, Foggy somehow found room to let the ball drop over his shoulder before swivelling and unleashing the sweetest of left foot volleys into the roof of the net: 1-1.

This goal did wonders for our morale and confidence, and the next 15 minutes saw the Accies on the front foot. Suddenly we were finding space, and the energy to exploit it.  One argument would be that we should have raised the pace more, and those off the ball could have done more to make the runs that would allow the man with the ball to move it quicker.  Having said that, this was the first game in three weeks and fitness and sharpness were always going to be an issue. 

Dale worked tirelessly up top, but was being closely marshalled by an experienced and well drilled back four.  However, he always finds a way to create a chance or two, and had his best during this good spell in the first half.  He evaded the defender inside the box on the left and shot low and hard, with the keeper being lucky to block with his rear end, when the ball could have easily squirmed under him.

The scores were level at half time, and despite the obvious disappointment with the first 20 minutes we were really pleased with how we finished the half.  The main criticism was that we were allowing the play to get stretched too much, by sitting too deep.  Although we tried to rectify this in the second half, when we lost possession we had a tendency to drop deeper and deeper.  It didn’t help that we spent much of the second half camped on the edge to our area, as we tried desperately to win back the ball from a team who were very good at keeping it.  Because of this when it was won back we couldn’t get far with it before losing it again. 

Perhaps if we hadn’t allowed such a big gap to develop between our defence and midfield following a goal kick, Luke A.’s misjudgement in our half with his back to goal wouldn’t have proved so costly.  Having only recently entered the fray it’s no surprise he hadn’t quite got up to the speed of the game, and even less surprising that – by his own admission – a freshly poured pint of milk was spotted turning in the village hall by the time he’d rotated the 90 degrees towards his namesake and intended recipient.  Luke’s pocket was duly picked, and before we knew it the striker was fed the ball on the edge of the box and finished first time into the bottom corner: 2-1.

The response of the boys was superb; Luke was picked up, dusted down and we went back to the business of getting back in the game.  We all knew it could have happened to any of us, and probably had a various points in the game.  We just weren’t punished as harshly.   

We knew we weren’t firing on all cylinders in this game, and that a little bit of magic might be needed to keep our cup dreams alive.  When Liam was tripped when seemingly through on goal, the defender was spared a red card, the foul was deemed to have been committed just outside the box, and Hanningfield’s 6 ft 6 plus striker plonked himself the end of the wall we could be forgiven for thinking all our fairy dust had been used up on Foggy’s first half strike.   However, it turned out Lee had been keeping a little in reserved, as he lined up the free kick and curled it over and around the wall, leaving the keeper rooted to the spot as the ball dipped under the bar and into the opposite top corner.  The crowd (Harry and friends) went wild and cries of “We’ve got ‘enry!” could be heard reverberating around the field (pitch would be an exaggeration): 2-2.

With the opposition stunned, we then came agonisingly close on two occasions to grabbing victory at the death.  First Tony, who wanted more than most to win the Junior Cup to put alongside his Essex Senior Cup medal, found himself in the box with a sight at goal on his favoured and lethal left foot.  Unfortunately he got the dosage wrong on this occasion and the ball flew high into the trees.  Then Lee bulldozed his way into the box before having us all hold our breath as a harmless looking attempt caught everyone out and drifted agonisingly just wide.

And so it was that we would have to wait at least another 30 minutes to find out who would progress to the quarter final.  The first 15 minutes of extra time came and went, with our only real chance being an effort from Terry that was comfortably saved at the keeper’s near post.  Then, early in the fourth period, after another sustained period of possession, Hanningfield’s giant striker – who you’d put your money on being on the end of crosses – got to the bye line and delivered a peach of a delivery which was powered home by his diving team mate at the back post.  Luke C. did all he could to get there first, but momentum and bulk were on the side of his opposite number: 3-2.

With ten minutes left the Accies piled bodies forward, with Craig looking the most likely to create a goal for us.  Either with his testing crosses or through neat interchanges with Dale on the right.  Frustratingly nothing in the box would fall for us, and even when Blakely got on the end of a cross there were too many bodies blocking the ball’s route to goal.  Dale did manage to get a couple of shots away following the good work with Craig, but the angle was just too tight.

The referee’s final whistle was bitter sweet, as although it signalled the end of our Essex Cup run for another year, it also ended the pain the suffering that we were all putting ourselves through.  In doing so a number of injuries were sustained, with the most serious seeming to be Foggy (knee) and Dale (ankle).  Lee also didn’t quite make the 120 despite being willing to come back on when Dale went down.  Hopefully everyone will make a speedy recovery, as we have many more big challenges ahead.

The post match debrief was a positive one; we accepted that we’d given our all, but that the best team (on the day at least) had won, and you can’t ask more than that.  There was a lot of pride on show, and it was definitely a day to be proud to be an Accie.

It isn’t surprising that there were a number of players nominated for MoTM, and in fact it’s not often that I feel I need to say a little bit about every single player’s contribution:

Lewis – solid between the sticks, and always an outlet when we needed to start again from the back.  Claimed and held everything that came into his six yard box.

James – wore his heart on his sleeve.  Threw himself into every challenge and never stopped running.

Luke C. – after a shaky start, grew in confidence.  Made a vital clearance off the line in the second half.

Blakely – had to dig deeper than most having only just returned after 8 weeks out.  A leader at the back and put in some massive tackles.

Eye-Ball – deployed at centre back again and stuck to his task to sweep up pretty much anything that was played in behind. Just edged it for MoTM.

Liam – was up and down all game.  Had a pretty tough time against a very good full back but won the free kick that took the game to extra time.

Foggy – right in the middle of the titanic midfield battle.  Took it upon himself to galvanise the team and try and raise the tempo and keep morale high.  Scored possibly the goal of the season so far.

Lee – always patient on the ball and looked to move the play to where the space was (which was easier said than done).  Scored a blinding free kick and nearly snatched a winner at the death.

Bobby – an absolute terrier. Chased down everything and put his body on the line for his team.  Deserves the respect and frequent MoTM votes he is accumulating from his team mates.

Tony – really came into the game following Foggy’s goal when he was particularly affective at turning insdie onto his left and finding Dale and Liam in attacking positions.  Would have been gutted not to bury his chance near the end.

Dale – fed off scraps for most of the game, but this didn’t stop him working his socks off.  Kept the defence on their toes, and warmed the keeper’s hands, but rarely had a clear enough sight of goal.

Craig – showed his quality when he came on, and added a bit of creativity which had been lacking.  His crosses at the end gave us hope, but luck wasn’t on our side on this occasion.

Luke A. – recovered from ‘that mistake’ and gave all he had to the cause.  Kept close tabs on their midfield general (who also happened to be ginger) and added much needed protection to the back four.  Insisted on receiving the DoTD award – which says a lot about the character of the man – without much support for this from the rest of the team.

Scott – made himself very popular with the Accies fan club (but not so much with the opposition) with a brilliant ‘reducer’ minutes after coming on.  Never shy of a challenge, and right in the mix as at the end as we tried to find an equaliser.

Terry – made a nuisance of himself and always tried to be an option as we moved into the final third.  Had one sight at goal, but the keeper was equal to it.

Harry – even when he’s just on the side line you can’t help but feel like he is right in the thick of the action.  Celebrated and cheered every challenge and neat bit of skill, and roused our small but dedicated following.

Those of us who have been around the club for a number of years know that the attitude, quality and commitment has changed a lot and frequently over the years, as so many different combinations of players have passed through revolving doors of your average Sunday league team.  Historically, when the attitude and commitment have been brilliant, we’ve not been a great team in terms of footballing ability.  But when we’ve had a quality side, collectively we haven’t always been prepared to stand up for each other and fight for the team – especially when we’ve had our backs against the wall.  However, I can honestly say that I’ve seen enough to think the current squad can be the best we’ve had (at least in my 11 seasons) across all three of these attributes, with attitude being by far the most important.  OK, so we might have to exclude training when talking about commitment, but no team is perfect.  So keep turning up, keep giving it everything when you get your chance, keep going down the boozer, keep getting to training if you can, keep doing it for your team mates, keep calm and UP THE ACCIES!

Eye-Ball

Next game: Sunday 15th January @ home v Stanford Town - Ted Fairchild Cup

Goal scoring chart

Lee’s goal moves him to the top of the chart, but with Dale announcing earlier in the week that he has extended his contract to the end of the season we know he’ll be going all out to make it five golden boots in a row.

Aveley Academicals 5 - 1 Thames Gateway

Firstly, I have to start with an apology.  This report was meant to be an in depth review of both the Accies convincing victory against a below par Thames Gateway, and a round-up of the Christmas Booze-athon.  However, my memory of both is slightly diminished by lack of time and energy to write a report over Christmas and the copious quantity of alcohol consumed on a particular Friday night/Saturday morning.  However, I will do my best to convey the key points.

Let’s start with the carnage at The Old Ship Inn, which was without doubt one of the best team piss ups I’ve attended.  The turn-out was excellent, the band was superb, the drinks were flowing and everyone was on top form.  The main recollections I have are of learning the following:

1. Terry is a closet Beatles fan (that was a great rendition of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds)

2. There is only one something – but despite Lee repeating it a countless number of times I can’t for the life of me remember what it is.

3. When Foggy says he’ll show you where his head got split open against Gateway, be prepared for him to drop his trousers (and pants).

4. The bully boys of Gateway are pussies compared to the combination of Stroppy Barman and Robin’s bathroom cabinet.

5. Don’t accept a drink off Luke A. – you’ll end up with twenty and they’ll all have ridiculous names that make them sound like harmless sweets; like ‘Skittle Bomb’ and ‘Bounty Brain (or was that Brian) Basher’.

6. Apparently James’s mum can tell him and brother Tom apart without the aid of tattoos or lairy bright pink football boots.

7. The gaffa knows how to deliver a back handed compliment – “I wish I’d realised you weren’t shit.  I would’ve come round and listened to more than just your last song!”

8. That clock in The Ship isn’t just back-to-front, it makes 8 hours of drinking feel like 2.

9. A Tactical Chunder on the C2C, and the fact The Ship is nowhere near a train station is no barrier to joining the team for more beer – good work Bobby.

I’m sure everyone else will have their own fond memories, but that’s my top 9 (as is traditional).

The drinks were scheduled for the Friday night to give us time to recover for a game against Lakeside on the Sunday.  However, it’s probably a good thing that this game was called off earlier in the week (because Lakeside couldn’t field a side), as something of us would still have struggled.

Having said that, it was frustrating that the momentum from a strong performance against Gateway couldn’t be carried straight over to the next week.  Still, this didn’t stop a strong Accies side putting in a confident and solid display against a team who on paper looked to be a big threat.  We were helped by the fact that they were missing some key players, but it’s hard to have sympathy for a side who start a game with ten men even though they’ve got a sub running the line, because they are waiting for a stronger player to turn up.

I have definitely said a number of times that to succeed in the Thurrock Sunday League, it isn’t enough to have the strongest first eleven.  You need a strong squad with enough players turning up week in, week out.  On this measure we definitely started as strong favourites in this game, and Liam was able to name a good side with some great options on the bench:

Subs: Brian, Terry, Luke A.

The keen eyed amongst you may notice that the line-up includes two captains.  This isn’t a typo, or a statement about needing multiple leaders on the field.  Foggy turned up late, and in doing so lost both his shirt and the arm band to Lee.  However, in a shocking display of denial and a slightly dubious statement to the referee about autism, that reiterates the call for certain Accies to need some diversity training (apparently Robin was upsetting the Gateway loyal followers in the previous game) Foggy refused to give up his crown and went out with an armband of his own.  This unacceptable behaviour also earned Foggy a DoTD award that was probably in the bag anyway following the worst attempt ever seen to stick up for one of your own players by squaring up to the oppo and proclaiming: “Leave him alone, he’s my c&@t!”

On top of his disability, Lee had to contend with a groin that before the game felt like it ‘was about to go.’  The frequent rubbing seemed to do the trick as not only did Lee make it through 90 minutes (autistic kids must be made of tougher stuff), but he had the turn of pace to skip past the last defender and finish at the near post to give the Accies the lead, and finish off a good move that saw James bring the ball forward before passing to Liam who in turn found Lee: 1-0.

This goal was fitting punishment for choosing to play with ten men, but they might have felt the gamble would pay-off when the lively midfielder finally arrived and started making some dangerous runs behind our back line.  However, Bobby soon spotted the danger and took on the man marking role superbly, and in doing so swung the pendulum back in the Accies’ favour.

Aveley have been guilty of not taking their chances this season, but you can usually rely on Dale, especially from 8 yards with no pressure and the whole of the goal to aim for.  As the ball flew wide of the goal some may have been worried that this might not be Dale’s day.  Luckily he didn’t feel the same, and was soon on the score sheet, and on his way to yet another hat-trick.  He’d love me to quote how many that is now but I just haven’t got the time to look back to the last time I did a stock take.  This one started with Craig flicking the ball over the defender on the bye line before crossing to the middle.  The defender slice the clearance back towards his own goal, and Dale wasn’t going to look a second gift horse in the mouth: 2-0.

Dale got his second before half time, when Luke C. played the ball forward for the striker to chase. He was rewarded for his effort to close down the defender, and Dale came out of the challenge with the ball and finished with ease: 3-0.

This was one of the easier half time discussions, as the orders were basically more of the same.  No changes were made straight away, but 10 minutes in Eye-Ball was replaced by Brian, who was still being eased back following injury.  Despite one scare, where the Accies were caught out by a long ball and flick on which allowed the striker a sight at goal from 18 yards which he gratefully accepted, the majority of the half was the boys in blue on the front foot.

With H not available, he was enjoying calling the shots from the side, and made two more influential changes.  Terry replaced Liam on the left and Luke A. came on Bobby.

Both were involved in the goals that killed off any hope of Thames Gateway making a comeback.  The Accies fourth was the goal of the game, and one of the best of the season.  Luke C. charged up the line before playing it forward to Craig, who held off the defender with his back to goal before playing it back to Luke C.  He then played it inside to Luke A. and continued his run down the line. Luke A. then threaded a perfect ball down the line which Luke C. was able to glide onto before crossing low into the middle, where Dale arrived at just the right time to sweep the ball into the net and complete his hat-trick: 4-1.

Terry always seems to be at the heart of the action, and his contribution this time will be remembered for a miss, and penalty appeal and a great goal.  The miss was on par with Dales: the goal at his mercy but he could only spoon it wide. The penalty appeal was a fair one, but perhaps the referee wanted to see more contact to warrant the theatrical tumble.  The goal was audacious, as Luke A. curled a sublime ball round the back of the defence for Terry to collect.  Just when we thought Terry had tried one too many twists, he moved the ball inside and curled it into the far corner from 12 yards: 5-1.

This wrapped up a great victory and a fine way to end 2016.  We know Thames will offer a tougher challenge next time, but we can still raise our game higher.  MoTM deservedly went to Dale, who is finally making his way towards where he belongs – the top of the goal scoring chart.  It’s been nice having you down there mate, but we knew it wouldn’t last.

Eye-Ball

Next game: Sunday 8th January 2017 – Essex Junior Cup Round 4. Away v Hanningfield.

Goal scoring chart