Casuals and Pelham played out a scrappy game away from home against Finchingfield to confirm them as league champions. Pelham started the stronger of the two sides even though they were well below their usual standard, seeing a lot of the ball and creating some good early chances. However they allowed Finchingfield to get back into the game with some sloppy passing from themselves, giving the ball away on numerous occasions. However they took the lead without getting out of second gear really as Mark Jolley whipped in a free kick which both Sam Kellow and Rob Parrish got to, with the latter finishing from Sams first flick on (sorry Jolley, no assist this time). With Pelham stealing an early goal you would think they would then kick on and take the game to the home side. However they again didnt get out of second gear and lowered their standard to the home sides. With the pitch starting to cut up in the middle of the park the game became scrappy, and Pelham werent getting the balls out to the wings like they maybe should have done. However Finchingfield never looked like they were going to threaten the Pelham goal, and although it wasnt a great performance, the away side always looked like they were going to get the second goal. That second goal came on 28 minutes when James Bosher picked out an advancing Tim Shaw who slotted cooly into the right hand bottom corner. The rest of the half was played out in scrappy fashion and it finished 2-0 to the away side at the break.
Although there were some good spells of play from Pelham in the first half, they knew they would need to step it up in the second half. However the away side started slowly and fairly similar to their first half performance. Again although they saw a lot of the ball and dominated possession they struggled to play with the tempo of last week or to break down the Finchingfield back line. However the home side werent any better and failed to create much with Dan Monk making one save all game being a freekick which was hit straight at him mid way through the second half. Once again Pelham looked the only side to get the vital next goal and they did just that when James Bosher made a good run down the left hand side and put a great cross in where both Tim Shaw and Rob Parrish were waiting for it in the box, with the latter taking the header on and finishing well. At 3-0 it looked like Finchingfield were out of it and that ended up being the case, with the last 20 minutes being played out, again in scrappy fashion but with Pelham dominating the ball. The final whistle blew and although it was a performance to forget, it was a case of job done as Pelham got the win they needed to finally seal the league title and continue the unbeaten run. Micks man of the match was a tough one this week as unfortunately there were no real stand out performers. He says that Sam Kellow, Tim Shaw and Dan Boyce were contenders for it, but at the end of the day goals win games so this week hes kept it simple and given it to Rob Parrish. Like i say not a game to remember really where maybe complacency kicked in against bottom of the league. However the vital thing was the win and the two points that come with it. Now the league title has been confirmed we need to move on from the league now as we have a busy February all cup focused. Big game next week against QPR in the interdivisional cup so lets make sure we are firing up for that one. But big congrats to everyone who has played a part in this seasons league campaign, everyone whos played a part has been vital for the title.
