Match Report

It was a good week to be asked to make my match report debut. The team is enjoying a rich vein of form and, on a personal level, it is a good chance to set a few things straight. Thirteen points from the last possible fifteen speaks for itself, and we’ve now got a talented and settled squad playing with confidence and determination week in week out.

Starting from ‘the off’ is something we talk about in the changing room before every game and we’re finally starting to do that. Certainly this week it was the case as we went one up in the first couple of minutes. The move started on the right with Joe getting a lucky bounce past three of their defenders before the ball was knocked across the box, the ensuing scramble ended up with the ball at my feet to tap in from a yard. In all seriousness though, it was a great run and piece of skill from Joe that made the goal.

It’s nice to see that Joe ‘I’m so clever I’m going to be a doctor’ Lipton has actually learnt something from me after all these years. We continued to dominate the first half with Richard Coyne and Steve Viner bossing the midfield.

After various missed chances, including one where Chris Viner hit the post and then turned defender to chase up the rebound and seemingly clear the ball for Crofton, we got our well deserved second. Good work by Chris on the left to get the cross in to Ben Duffy who rose well to make a header which agonisingly came back off the bar. Luckily it fell straight back to him to volley between the keeper''s legs and send us in at half time in a strong position. A good half time talk reminded us there was no room for complacency and we started the second half just as brightly as the first.

Now, I have taken a fair amount of stick for my boots over the last couple of weeks, and I am the first to admit that they are somewhat garish, but anyone who knows me knows that there is reason for everything I do (including what boots I wear), and that reason became clear under a minute into the second half. The ball came over to me on the edge of the area and as my outstretched boot brought the ball down something happened. A beam of lightning seemed to come from my boot and hit me straight in the forehead. I blacked out. You’ll have to ask someone else what happened next because when I woke up all I knew was that the ball was in the back of the net and what had passed had warranted cries of ‘Bergkamp!!’ from my team mates. I now realise the real reason that Todd objects to the boots so much – jealousy that he could never pull them off himself because they’d clash with his hair.

Crofton raised their game after that and controlled possession for a period but to no avail as our defence stood strong with Paul and Todd rejecting everything that came their way and with the full backs doing a great covering job. Unfortunately for Colin he had to come off after a hefty clash with their centre back but he’d done his job and super sub Lee Shep came in to fill the role with aplomb. Having seen off Crofton’s only attacking spell of the game we stepped up the pace again. I received the ball out on the left from Richard Tapsfield, whose cross field balls were causing problems all day, and looked up to see Joe on another buccaneering run down the right. I played the ball across only for Joe to miscontrol and blaze high and wide. Unlucky mate. In fairness he had run the length of the pitch to get there, and isn’t quite at that zero percent body fat yet, that is needed to get that extra yard!

Never fear though Chris Viner and Ben Tomkins (on for Ben Duffy) added the last two goals with clinical finishes past the helpless keeper.

It was a very good performance on Saturday boys but next week we’ve got Salmon in the cup, who we lost 2-1 to earlier this season, so we’re all going to have to raise our games further. We’ve got the right blend of youth and experience and the pace we have going forward is enough to test any defence in the league, so let’s put in the hard work and get the result we deserve. WINNERS!!!!!