The line up was announced on Friday afternoon with a last minute illness seeing skipper Jamie Adams withdrawn from the starting 11 which resulted in a reshuffle, with Jordan Price coming into the midfield and the versatile Tom Jones dropping into centre half for his first appearance for the dragons in a league game for over a year.
It was a warm and sunny Sunday morning in Trelai which was the venue for the much anticipated first league game of the season which saw one of the league favourites opening their campaign against mid table opposition last season Roath Park Rangers. Much of the conversation in pre-season was that this was the best squad the dragons have ever had but it was now time for that potential to turn into points. The dragons started in their favoured 4:1:3:2 formation with Mussolini looking to start the campaign with a bang and put down a marker for the long and arduous season that was ahead.
However the dragon’s inability to start the game well was quickly upon them again while they threatened early doors when they got the ball wide they soon found themselves behind, with the opposition winger cutting inside and being allowed far too much space to run into he played a nice through ball to the centre midfielder who burst into the box to slot the ball past Trevor 1-0 Roath. This seemed to kick start the dragons into life with their midfield starting to dominate play Jordan and Matt linking up the middle and the pace and trickery of both Corky and Jamie out wide was beginning to cause havoc for the Rangers midfield and back line. The equaliser was nothing BG dragons did not deserve some neat interplay in the middle of the park saw Christmas ignite into action for what has been a quiet pre-season for him to date. He burst forward like buffalo on a stampede playing a majestic through ball to Ant who’s first touch was sublime allowing him an age to calmly chip the ball over the on rushing keeper 1-1. The dragons started to dictate the play with both their full backs getting forward at every opportunity and the front two of Bateman and Ant always keeping the Roath back 4 on the back foot, the third goal of the game came from some great play on the right with Bateman dropping deep to lay the ball off to the young Cafu Devsey he played a through ball to Corky who seemed to be marshalled out wide only for some neat foot work he cut inside and scored from the narrowest of angles 2-1 BG great finish.
Surely the dragon’s would push on from here how wrong we were with a seamless long ball from the keeper the 6 foot 5 Scott’s man miss judged the flight of the ball and his header skimmed into the path of the winger nick named the ballerina who calmly curled the ball into the far left hand corner of the net with Trevor peerless to stop it great finish but a poor header costing the dragons a goal. Again this spurred them into life after Ant missed what was a sitter for his usual high standards the dragons pressed their opposition with Jordan starting to shine in the midfield complimented by the pit bull Christmas and the wide outlet the opposition were backed into the corner. Some neat play down the right releasing Bateman whose dangerous squared ball across the 6 yard box was neatly finished by the opposition centre half, own goal even though Bateman was trying to claim it 3-2 dragons. Only a last ditch goal saving tackle from Reggie saw the dragons enter half time in the lead after a mix up at the back saw Reggie fly across to block the ball, half time came with the dragons in front.
The break saw the dragons re-group and focus on how they were only 1 ahead of a half that they had dominated after the first 15 minutes with some sublime play from the back to the front. For the first time in the last 4 games the dragons returned to the field with the same starting 11. As the second half got under way it was quick to see which team had come out the blocks after the half time liquid refreshments, the dragons played the next 45 minutes with some extravagant football. The fourth goal was a great team goal with the dragons passing the ball from left to right, a break down the right saw Weston who replaced Corky playing a pass to Jordan who squared the ball to Christmas who from 22 yards hit a straight pile driver into the bottom right hand corner with the keeper powerless to stop it, 4-2 dragons. It was then time for the Bateman show who somehow after a shift Mo Farah would be proud of first half he was yet to get on the score sheet, that was soon to change but before that Mussolini rung the changes which saw Nike enter the midfield with Jordan dropping to right back and Jamo coming on at left back.
The strength in depth and quality of the dragon’s squad was the final nail in the coffin for the opposition who made a few changes of their own but could not match the quality the dragons possessed. With Nike almost taking a leg as a souvenir of the centre midfielder the dragons were quick to resume their passing prowess with Nike making a superb break down the right and playing a great cross into the box which saw Bateman nip in front of the centre half to get the dragons their fifth goal and his first of the new season 5-2 dragons. A clearance from a corner a few minutes later in the dragon’s 18 yard box fell at the edge of the area for a weak strike which seemed a simple save saw Trevor spill the ball out and the striker to tap home to make the last 20 minutes a tight affair 5-3 now. A few years ago we may have seen the away side go into their shell like a tortoise hiding from an eagle attack but not the squad of 2013/2014 some neat play down the left by Williams saw him play Bateman in for his second of the game and the dragons 6th. Not content with this the competitor Nike decided to show some of his yard skills by playing an acute long ball from just inside his half into the path of Bateman who continued to harry the keeper and get there ahead of him to head the ball over his out stretching arm to seal his hat trick great knock from Nike 7-3 dragons.
With the game drawing to an end Bateman decided he wanted to tackle the entire opposition back 4 himself he pressed both centre half’s and nicked the ball from them and with a quick drop of the right shoulder his first time shot went in off the far post 8-3 dragons and his fourth of the campaign. The referee blew up straight after this and the dragons were delighted to start this campaign with 3 points in the bag after a slow start over the last few season’s. There were some standout performances today that require a mention I felt Jordan was immense throughout, Christmas began to show his true Player of the Year credentials from last season but Bateman was the stand out player in my eyes a centre forward master class today. The dragons need to not dwell on this as it is just one game of a very long season ahead and they will face much tougher tests however the signs are there and the hype that has surrounded the squad all pre-season was there to see on numerous occasions today.
Great win dragons however the key could be this year can Mussolini keep consistency within the squad as changes week in week out could disrupt the balance however one thing is for certain the quality is there throughout the squad so competition for places is intense...should make people come to the forefront on match day, but quality is only complemented through hard work you don’t 3 points by just turning up.
Focus Areas from the game:
1- Finishing – Against the better teams we only may get 3-4 chances in the match so we need to clinical but on the opposite to this for 2 weeks now we should have scored 15 goals per game quite easily and you know that’s no exaggeration. However want a compliment to say even after scoring 8 we should be punishing teams this year.
2- Composure – At times first half we were playing fireball looking to move the ball forward as quickly as possible if it’s not on let’s start again and ware the opposition out.
3- Concentration – We were a million times more disciplined on Sunday however conceding 3 goals we got caught on 2 occasions through poor concentration at the back something I know will come as the games develop.
Reporters Golden Awards for Sunday:
Touch of the Game – There is only one winner for the first time in 5 years.... the keeper smashes the ball in the air and oh no Reggie is under it with a Messy like touch the ball sticks to his foot like glue...with Reggie then gliding forward like a young Swan on the lake. Superb Tekkers from the TV star, the crowd went nuts running around like we’d won the cup final.
Goal / Move of The Game – This my comrades is very difficult as there was outstanding passages of play today, but the one that stood out for me was some slick passing in the midfield saw Christmas open up like a young cheetah to drive forward and played a mesmerising through ball to Davies who’s first touch set up the goal for a deft chip over the keeper to level the game at 1-1 and in the context of just going behind was a big point in the first half.
Risk of the Game – If Reggie’s back heel was in central play I would have hacked him myself but it came off so I can’t say him J I’d go this week while I commend the BG dragons for playing the ball from the back sometimes it can be overplayed especially from goal kicks. However it was good to see people wanting the ball this week and picking their head up and playing the simple pass, consistency within the back line could play a massive part in the season for them this year.
Worst Tackle – This could the most anticipated battle of the season with Tom Jones taking the honour in 2 of the pre-season games, his Bush wacker side kick fresh from warm weather training took the honour last week who would come out on top this week. The winner of the prestigious worst tackle of the game goes to Nike for the second week running, about 4 days after the ball is played he hacks the centre midfielder and what was his excuse to the referee just getting used to the pace of the game ref....
Tekkers of the Game – Difficult one this as there was special moments, from Batemans individual goal, Nike’s diagonal pass for Bateman to score, Corky’s acute finish from the touch line and Jamie creating havoc every time he had the ball (just stop shooting). For me it has to go to Jordan Price throughout the game with his quick feet and neat one touch football he seemed to have an age on the ball when it came to his feet he got himself out of some tricky situations throughout on the touch lines but nice to see him match the technical brilliance with some aggression in the tackle.
Save of the Game – I have to say for the first week this season, there was probably more a contender for non save of the day but it’s about the positives this season. So I would save there was little to be done about 2 of the 3 goals conceded and we will leave it at that for this week. As usual Wright was vocal as ever communicating with the backline throughout.
Funny Moment – It pains me to say this but the bulldozer Davies had enough time in the first half to have a cup of tea and gently slot the ball home. From about 6 yards he decides to try and smash the ball through the net and instead it hits a tree in the distance about 100mph killing a squirrel in the process...shocking miss from a man who has barely missed all pre-season.
Reporters Man of the Match – As you all know the man needs no help with his ego yes we are talking about you Mr Price, for the 2nd week running and following training this week he was immense throughout however with that said I have to go for Mr Bateman after scoring 4 goals I thought his work rate was absolutely immense from the front man. From the first moment he gave the opposition no time on the ball and put he his body on the line throughout, difficult call but the vice captain followed up his 5 goals last week with an all round performance that was a pleasure to be a part of. On a serious I must single out Jordan as well, probably the best I have seen him play in a dragons shirt, encouraged throughout and looked to concentrate on his own goal for a change...(enjoy your holiday buddy)
