Match Report

As there seems to be a lack of match reports from the Third team, I have decided to write one, not out of team spirit to be honest, but it’s a typical Sunday afternoon and I’m very bored.

It was a bitterly cold but cheery Saturday afternoon as we trekked over to a charming little village called Eltham to play a sidedish sorry side called Salmon. This was a big match as the two sides are very close together in the league. Confidence in the excuse of a dressing room was high after a conclusive 5-1 victory the week before. The team was boosted by the return of Richard, Matty and myself.

The game started well for us - we had the majority of possession and had a couple of early chances, Richard Coyne didn’t seem to stop running, and Steve Viner was allowing him to get forward by sweeping up everything that dropped in behind him. Everyone tried to play football despite the pitch being a bit rubbish. The first goal came after a delightful corner from Colin Brazier was tucked away by in form Ben Tomkins from a very tight angle. He scored again with a header after a great ball from Lee Sheppard. I’m sorry this report is a bit vague but in my defence I was linesman.

The nail in the coffin for Salmon was when Alex Thrall off the subs'' bench smacked in a Gerrard like goal from outside the box but his celebrations were cut short when he was tackled and had to go off with a badly bruised ankle. It got worse…he was booked (apparently you''re not allowed to get injured nowadays). A Salmon defender received his marching orders shortly afterwards.

Overall it was a good team performance, the two full backs Jack Harding and Joe Lipton were very solid, Bens Duffy and Tomkins defended from the front not allowing their defence time to settle. Lee Sheppard worked tirelessly, Colin made some great runs, Matty looked as though he’d been playing all season and you’d never think Richard Davis was 19 years old as he reads the game so well. Ivor shouted lots.

After the game we flocked to the bar to see their highly rated barmaids who did not disappoint, in hindsight I should''ve perhaps ordered something cool like a lager and a cigar as opposed to a Lucozade and a packet of Twiglets but I’m young and am still learning my trade. Note to Vic, maybe you should tap them up to work behind our bar, no disrespect to Couch or Rob Weekly who do a great job, but business would increase tenfold. If that’s not sorted by next season it’s quite probable Farnborough’s playing squad will halve and Salmon will have an inextricably large squad.

Next week sees another big game against Tudor, the team 1 below, at the same venue I might add.

Four wins on the trot is very possible if this good form is continued.

Sam


Firstly I would like to apologise to the club for the lack of match reports over the last two weeks. I could blame crossed wires etc but why should I? Both men have been severely reprimanded and I shall draw a line under their poor efforts and then excuses….!

We welcomed a new central defence partnership this week, due to a Paul Parsons injury that he picked up last week and Todd Arnold being unavailable. The duo that we need to thank is Matty and Richard. Also making a welcome return for the second week is Sam! Thanks guys.

We spoke in the changing room about must win games and this was definitely a fixture where we could have seen second place in the league slipping away.

The team lined up with the welcome return of Ivor in goal, Jack at the back on the left, Joe on the right with Matt and Richard in the middle. In midfield was Colin on the left, Lee on the right and Steve and Richard Coyne in the middle, leaving Ben and Ben upfront. On the bench were Andy Scott, Alex Thrall and Sam Small.

The pitch had even less grass than last time so our silky passing game was not going to be easy. Early exchanges saw Ivor making a good save and this gave the crowd their first, and it proved only real opportunity to cheer our cheeky keeper.

We never really talk about the crowd, as very rarely have one but with Paul Parsons, the ever present Mr Tomkins and Jack Harding’s mate on the sidelines plus the three subs and The Gaffer they made quite a racket…!

We started to take the game to Salmon and our early pressure paid off. A corner from Colin was floated into the area, and I had taken my key position in front of the keeper. My presence had also attracted the attention of two of their defenders (that’s right 3 Salmon players now marking me….they knew I could be dangerous). As I was being manhandled Matt soared like a Salmon (sorry..!), and then the ball fell to Ben Tomkins to side foot home with some aplomb.

1-0 up and looking good. More pressure saw their stand in keeper scuff his clearance and the ball fell to Lee on the right wing. People at the game will doubtless have their own opinions on the way I controlled the ball….but genius is a subjective thing and again I seemed to be at the heart of everything creative…!

OK, in reality I was also shocked that I still had the ball and I thank my longest stud on my right boot for me keeping possession. I composed myself and sent a floating ball into the box where the on fire BT put away a lovely driving header. Does football come any better?

At half time the management duo of Paul and Ed continued to push the fact that we needed to keep the pressure up for 90 minutes. Any lapse in concentration could have let Salmon back in with a chance. We continued the good football in the second half and after a number of changes Jack moved into left midfield and continued his MOM performance.

The icing on his display was a powerful run at the Salmon defence; add in a few turns, a drop of the shoulder, strength and then a beautiful pass ended with a wonderful shot and goal, from Alex. Unfortunately Alex in his endeavour for his second was caught by a heavy challenge (those white boots normally attract the attention of the opposition..!) and had to come off with 5 minutes remaining. Hope all is ok….! I did hear one of the team say that lumps are good, not to sure about that as lumps that size normally hurt a lot..!

A good result and I’m sure we look forward to our next trip to Butterfly Lane…!

Glad that it is this coming week against Tudor Sports as I’m sure Ben Tomkins can continue to bore that poor barmaid again with the story of his two goals.

Shep