After three frozen false starts, Boots Wednesday finally got to play a game in 2012, and began the year with a friendly win against Division Three side FC Eastwood, who provided ample competition (and a few scares) for the rotating Boots squad.
Eastwood actually started the brightest, trying to play long diagonal balls to their physical forwards, but Boots slowly worked themselves back into possession and Luke soon had more joy in holding up the ball with Griff, Rich and Chibbert in support. As the pressure increased, Boots took the lead after 15 minutes when Phil’s long kick was headed on by the bustling Chibbert into the path of Rich, who looked up from the right wing and sent a looping 25 yard shot over the keeper’s head into the far left corner. To their credit, Eastwood pushed forward with more focus after falling behind, and it only took a few minutes before the scores were level; a long throw from their right wing was flicked on across goal, and their winger pounced to stab home under Phil. Despite a few other scares (usually wasted shots) and tight offside calls (correctly ruled by Rowan), Toobs, SuBo, Ash and Horlicks saw away any other danger after that, while at the other end Boots endeavoured to retake the lead as Simon tried his luck from distance on two occasions, Luke and Griffin were both almost played through (but the keeper came out to smother) and Ian whistled a header inches over the ball. Eventually Boots got a deserved second when Griffin’s curling corner from the right was headed home into the bottom right corner by SuBo. A third quickly followed as Chibbert’s long throw from the left was headed towards goal by SuBo (who dominated in the air all game), and Deano eluded the keeper with the faintest of flicks to put off the defenders and watch the ball nestle in the far corner.
Despite changes to personnel at half time, Boots continued to dominate for the first 20 minutes of the second half. Rowan and Kieran combined up front to create a handful of chances, but the final finish wasn’t forthcoming. Both Rowan and Eastwood had a goal ruled out due to offside, before Boots edged further in front; Simon won a towering header from a goal kick, and the ball fell to Ross who dribbled forward and struck an absolute peach into the top right bin from 30 yards! At this point Boots let their foot of the pedal and relaxed (as we invariably do when winning easily) and Eastwood were given a life-line when Patto could only clear a header to the edge of the area, where a snapshot and a spot of box pinball ending with the ball being tucked under Frumpy. Minutes later, and after a number of dubious offside calls by the Eastwood linesman, the lead was down to only one goal when a throughball released their quickest striker who finished well into the bottom left corner. Eastwood then unbelievably equalised when their left winger skipped through a number of challenges and rolled the ball into the path of their striker who finished easily. Aware of the obvious need for possession and trying not to self-destruct further with tempers rising, Boots reformed with Ross moving to a more obvious defensive midfield position, and suddenly they looked sound again as simple movement up front began unlocking the Eastwood defence. Slick passing between Howard and Rich released Kieran into the box, who skipped around his marker and squared for the advancing SuBo to pass into the net for his second goal of the match. Ross then released Griffin down the left-wing, and he produced a sublime curling cross to the back post, where Luke headed in (with the help of the keeper and defender on the line!) The final goal killed off the opposition and Boots saw out the rest of the game comfortably, and the lead should have been extended but Chibbert couldn’t finish a strong run, Rich blazed a curling shot over while Patto miscued a spinning volley at the back post with the last kick of the game.
Overall it was a great attacking performance from Boots, and even defensively we looked very comfortable for long periods of the match. The drop in concentration levels and intensity towards the end of the second half almost cost us the win, as we gave the opposition too much time on the ball and forgot to keep possession and do the basics, but in the end we did enough to see off a stubborn opposition and all have a much-needed run-out!
