Match Report by Crozier:
Boots got their first points of the season in a close encounter with Brooks Villa, with goals from Patto and Luke sealing a 2-1 win. Pete may have been feeling the pressure after a difficult start as Manager (similar to Brendan Rodgers and AVB), but he was confident going into this game with a strong squad on a Clifton pitch that Boots have traditionally done well on against various opposition.
Boots started the stronger on the narrow and bobbly pitch, and had various chances from Matt’s long throws and Griff’s corners (complete with the now trademark hand signals!) that caused panic in the box but just didn’t manage to fall to any Boots players. Other notable chances fell to Chibs and Ian who both shot wide from the edge of the area, Patto sliced a left footed volley wide from a tight angle and then hit a curling long-range shot that was well saved by their keeper, and Luke was nodded through on goal but couldn’t get under the bouncing ball. With Boots failing to capitalise on their chances, Brooks Villa slowly pulled their way back into the game, and Phil had to make two sharp saves, while they also hit the stanchion when free in front of goal near the end of the first half. However for most of the half Boots were on top as Ian and Justin worked well to win back the ball and find Chibbert and Matt on the wings with some composed play.
With the score still frustratingly 0-0 at half time, the second half continued to be tight. Boots’ best chances still came from set plays, with Ian winning almost everything in the air and hitting the bar with one header from a corner, while Chibs had a header cleared off the line from another corner and hit the post from a tight angle after Patto had played him through. As the game seemed to be heading towards a stalemate, a mix-up in the Brooks defence presented Luke with an easy finish. A ball over the top from Ian saw Luke and their defender competing for it, and whilst the defender got to the ball first his botched attempt at a backpass allowed Luke to knock it past the keeper and show strength to fend off his marker and slot the ball home! This spurred Brooks Villa into action and Boots arguably sat back too much on their lead, although for the most part there were no notable chances (other than a Brett backward header that Phil had to save) until a long through ball from the back saw their quick striker (who had been stifled by the defence all day long until now) get a run on Sicky and then chip over Phil. The Brooks equaliser came with only 4 minutes of the game remaining, but Boots refused to capitulate or settle for a draw, and showed spirit to hit back almost instantly. A long ball into the right corner from Ash allowed Luke to once again shake off his marker and square to the unmarked Patto, who finished calmly with his famous toe poke into the bottom left corner, allowing Boots to take all 3 points for the first time this season!
Overall the game was closer than it should have been, but Boots can now build on this win and look to be more confident and ruthless against similar opposition. Unfortunately the close result meant that Pete had some difficult decisions to make as he wanted to preserve a much-needed result, so credit must be given to Bally, Tom Samuels, Daz and Simon who all turned up but were unfortunate not to get on. Pete awarded Man of the Match to Luke Bradley for a tireless performance up front chasing every ball, although overall it was a great team performance from everyone.
