Bexley Athletic secured their most impressive win of the season with a dominant performance at home to FC Puma. The display against Mottingham Park Rangers the week before was branded “a disgrace” as Bexley threw away an easy three points. A response was demanded, and the team delivered.
Bexley got off to a difficult start when Erik appeared to have borrowed Laurie’s alarm clock and was unable to attend, not helped by the absence of life partner Sam. Fortunately, Laurie was functioning this weekend as Bexley named the maximum 16 players. After pitch allocation problems resulted in a short warm up; a difficult team selection was largely irrelevant as everyone would have a chance to make an impact on this game. Sean made his first appearance in over two years.
The opening 20 minutes were all Bexley Athletic. Rob, Dan, and Olli swept up almost every second ball in the midfield, with Adam and Chris offering width from the wings. This dominance in possession all stemmed from confident play within the back three, as Bexley worked some promising attacks.
Most importantly, Bexley made the possession count and took an early lead. A speculative shot from Elton should have been comfortably saved by the keeper; however Muj pounced like a predator on the dropped ball to bag his first competitive Bexley goal. The reinvented striker was proving to be an irritant for the Pumas keeper as he was unlucky not to double his goal tally after a similar fumble.
Bexley pushed on and were in complete control; however a warning of fragility of the one goal lead was given when Pumas big striker struck a well hit moving shot from the edge of the box. Fortunately Dan was on his toes and was right behind hit.
As the intensity begun to drop changes were made to freshen the side up. Laurie, Josh, Jack and Klavs were all introduced. Klavs recovered a strong tackle to then bag his first of the season in remarkably similar circumstances to Muj. Elton, too out of breath to run, hit another bang average strike which was an easy save. But he keeper had other ideas, made a meal of it, and Klav’s was alive to the second ball bagging a close range header.
In the latter stages of the first half Pumas begun to get a foothold and were certainly not out of the game. Some organised defending amongst a few silly mistakes limited Pumas chances from open play; and some cheap set pieces given away were defended well. This was until a corner bounced in the 6 yard box, was cleared punched in by the arm of the attacker. Inexplicably, the referee awarded the goal until Dan McGovern told the referee he to stop being a clown and give a free kick. The referee listened to Dan McGovern.
Pumas were fortuitous themselves as chaos in the box almost lead to Laurie making it 3-0. Elton then upset the Pumas keeper and was grabbed round the throat. Having met Elton before, the referee decided this was fair.
The original four players were rotated back into play to up the energy once again. Elton was rested in favour of Dan McGovern’s stability on the ball and set piece threat, with the plan use the skipper on the counter later in the half.
The second half was more of a game. Less a walk in the park as in the first 20 minutes, but Pumas were always on an uphill battle. Bexley continued to work some promising chances with Chris, Adam and Jack displaying the confidence to run at their defenders. However, the efforts on goal dried up, which was a shame given the keeper clearly wasn’t the best they would ever face.
Whilst the defending was largely good across the field, some lapses of concentration were not to cause Bexley pain today as they had on previous occasions. But, this was dependent on Dan making a save at a tight angle, Pumas missing a tap in after opening up Bexley with a nicely squared ball, and later on Dan being awake at his near post. Set pieces were again dealt with competently, no signs of the shabby defending from last week.
It was the missed tap in at 2-0 which would prove to be the big moment. This is because Puma’s defence didn’t realise Klavs was on fire. Dan Slade AKA Pirlo in the centre of the park would feed Bexley’s best player on the day into the right channel. Klavs still had plenty to do, but challenge accepted; lovely low finish beyond the keeper.
The game was now over as a contest as both teams slightly dipped in intensity. Dan Slade, Olli, Pete, and Elton were gradually withdrawn for a battle on another day, and Sean was given his chance up front. Bexley continued to play from the back and look to keep possession, which was pleasing to see. This possession paid off as Elton got in on the goal scoring action. A lovely weighted pass from Chris fed Elton who cut in from the right and curled a fine effort into the far corner.
Credit to Pumas, they continued to push forward until the end, but picked up a silly booking when Josh won a 50/50. More goals were there for the taking, but Sean was perhaps aerodynamically compromised by his top knot as he impersonated a slow motion replay when attacking a ball into the box.
The game would end 4-0, easily Bexley’s most dominant win since reforming. Most pleasing was the desire to win every ball, follow up on efforts, and look to kill a team off once in the lead. However, more goals were there for the taking with continued efforts on target in the second half; and Pumas were given enough opportunity to get back into the game.
A big improvement, but the pursuit for greatness continues.
Man of the match Klavs thanked his manager after the game. When speaking to Jeff Shreeves, Bexley’s international said “I owe a big thank you to the manager. Todays performance would not have been possible without the recommendation of KT tape, and the whispers in my ear at training set me up for a great game today”
In a short but direct interview, Davis broke his silence over the past week “last week they were the worst team I’ve ever seen. I was embarrassed. Today I’m proud of all 15 of them. Their efforts were rewarded and we deserve to enjoy today. In particular the midfield for the first 20 minutes, absolute class”
“But we are chasing greatness, and we haven’t found it yet. We go for better next week”
