The sun came out to christen AFC Carshalton’s Beeches 2nd ever football league game and it couldn’t have started any better. We win a free kick on the right which Bruff played to Milton. The ball was whipped in and Martin’s finish was brilliant. 1-0 up with 1 minute on the clock. This was probably as much of a shock to the oppo as it was to us but our bright start didn’t stop there as we played some composed football out from the back (minus the odd blip). We struggled to create another clear cut chance and the oppo definitely found their feet. Thanks to some valiant defending from Tai, Jamie & Luke, they were however forced to long range efforts which rarely troubled the goal. They did create 1 great chance but our luck was in as their CF (tats) missed an open goal. Goks was playing some nice football in the middle with Jack and Chris (Stepover) but the 2nd goal came when Tai took the ball from defence and launched a great ball to Martin. The keeper cleared but Bruno then took advantage of the open net with a great 40yard lob. Definitely wasn’t an easy finish but we found ourselves at 2-0. Josh had to make a fantastic save from their number 6 with a save most keepers just couldn’t make. We had a good shape and although the oppo had more of the ball, we didn’t look like we were going to concede. The shape held firm due to some great tracking back from Milton and Chris but from my view, Tai and Luke were clearing anything and everything that came their way.
We had an inspirational team talk from Fowler and the 2nd half commenced. Martin and Nelly were making some good runs but we couldn’t quite find a clear cut chance. The game did slip away from us a little but this was mainly due to fitness and injuries (which were due to fitness) as we had to make a succession of subs which really changed the line-up. They pulled it back to 2-1 when the monster that is Jamie Fitzgerald apparently pushed their CF in the back. It was soft, but the goal stood. That goal changed the dimension of the game as the oppo were starting to get a bit narky with the ref. The 2nd goal came after we failed to clear our lines (on 2 occasions…) and we now found ourselves drawing the game. We definitely didn’t crumble and we created a couple of really good openings through Jack and Chris and although Martin’s shot was scuffed, Bruff was there to bang in the winning goal. Luckily though, Bruff’s pathetic attempt at a shot went across goal to Martin who grabbed the 3rd. Nelly coming on seemed to help the team and although I can’t remember where he was playing, he definitely made things happen! The oppo were annoyed and with 10 minutes left all we had to do was hold on. Famous last words as the oppo didn’t give up and created chance after chance. Thankfully Josh was bossing his area but we could do nothing for the equaliser. After some great play in the RB role, Rich made a goal line clearance but his punt deflected straight back off Bruff for the equaliser. As I am writing this report, its going down as Rich’s OG, not mine! 5 minutes to go and they chanced a long ball which somehow found the strikers feet. 3-4 down. Bruff still struck a volley which was cleared and Bruno went on a great run and was unlucky not to score (should have pulled it back to Martin!).
By
James Brough
