The game was played in the caged area at Hamstreet and was a 6 per side match, which we historically struggle to play well in. Even with this in the background, we started poorly.
We were guilty of chasing the ball from the very off and struggled to get any sort of grip on the game. We were chasing shadows and Woodchurch had the confidence to play around and through us with ease. Within minutes of the start, the had broken through our 3 man midfield and a low hard shot across Jan found the net in off of the post.
Woodchurch's forward was physical and seemed to be able to push and shove his way around the pitch. Despite our protests, the referee seemed content to allow the contact to continue and this soon became a theme for the entire match.
The second Woodchurch was an identical attack except this time the forward dropped and their right midfielder picked up the pass through and scored across Jan, giving him no chance.
At this point we did start to get some time on the ball and managed to create a couple of chances. mike shot high and Rob and Andy both shot just wide with the rebounds being collected by the defenders and moved away to safety. We were guilty of not following up our shots or chasing down balls into the corner, probably due to not being used to playing in the cage environment.
We were still struggling with holding our shape and not really looking for the ball as half time approached. Constricted by time and with no clear outlet, Jan was forced into a pass to Den that wasn't really on. The opposition forward managed to intercept the ball and send it into the goal. He had come from behind and was clearly not walking but this again went unpunished and the goal stood.
We went in 3 - 0 down at half time with Woodchurch having been the better side in the first half but with a large portion of having played the referee better than we had.
The second half started as the first had finished. We chased the ball all over the pitch and when we did manage to get possession, we had no shape with which to use it. The physicality continued and we did start to match Woodchurch with some aggression. There was now almost constant contact and running and the game was descending into controlled chaos.
Woodchurch scored a fourth with Den almost being pushed to the floor in the process and we made changes.
We continued to create the odd chance with Mike and Rob both getting shots off but seeing the balls fly high and wide. We did continue to toil and did now retain a degree of shape to our game but by now the game was lost.
Woodchurch got a fifth goal and we made our final substitution but that was the final action of the game. It finished Woodchurch 5 - 0 Canterbury.
It was not our best game but we were hampered by more poor refereeing. Woodchurch were certainly the better team on the day and they adapted their play to meet what the referee would allow quicker and easier than we did.
My thanks to the squad that turned up and tried but who were ultimately left frustrated and somewhat angry after the match.
Additionally, my thanks go out to the supporters who turned up and had to endure a far from decent game.
Finally, the Player Of The Match was Rob Johnson who toiled throughout and was kicked and elbowed form start to finish. He now has a medal to go along side his bruises.
Paul
