Casuals and Pelham went two wins from two games after they finished 2-1 winners against Sheering Saints FC. The away side started the brighter of the two sides as they came firing out the blocks very very quickly. However even with that being the case and although Pelham couldn't really get anything going for the first ten minutes, the away side didn't really create any clear cut chances and didn't take advantage. After Pelham sustained that 10 minutes of early pressure they started to get on the ball more and string some good passing moves together. The home side were on top for the next 20 minutes and all 10 outfield players played their part in some great footballing moves. The passing was quick and sharp at Pelham found themselves in behind a couple of times but just lacked that cutting edge once in those positions. However after a few good chances went begging they started to sharpen up a bit with their finishing and came close to breaking the deadlock on several occasions. A few long range efforts came in from the central midfield pairing of Dan Boyce and Gavin Brace, but the home side came closer through chances from Joe White, a Dan Arran effort that rocketed off the bar and a Sam Carter effort which was cleared off the line via the back of a defender. However the home side finally broke the deadlock around the half hour mark through an unlikely source, after some good closing down and tackling from Gavin Brace the ball broke to Mark Hainsby and with Liam Perry making a run and opening up the space, he took the ball on himself and curled a beautiful shot into the top right hand corner, leaving the keeper with no chance. It was no more than Pelham deserved and they continued to play out the rest of the half in similar fashion with some great footballing moves getting down one end of the pitch, and at the ever end the back four were solid and didn't really give the away side much of a sniff at an opportunity. The first half ended and the home side went in 1-0 up. The second half started in a fairly similar way to how the first ended with Pelham seeing more of the ball and playing some good stuff. However their tempo from the first half had completely dropped and they weren't getting in behind as much because of that. Sheering Saints were in a similar boat and rather than starting how they did in the first half, putting Pelham under pressure and making them up their game, they instead sat back and defended deep. Both teams looked more sluggish in the second half and both looked to have fell victim to the sun and heat and the fact that neither side had any subs to use. Although Pelham were seeing a lot of the ball and keeping it well, their plays were at a slow walking pace. With sluggish play comes mistakes and the home side fell victim to one. A long ball was played forwards by Sheering Saints which Doug Hazell managed to get under control after a couple of headers, calmly playing the ball back to the keeper, and from there, Cal who was filling in for the absent Dan Monk unfortunately miss-kicked the ball, slicing it towards his own goal, with the Sheering Saints striker only needing to chase down the ball and tap it in to an empty net. That goal seemed to rock the home side slightly and to be fair to Sheering Saints, they took advantage of that. Pelhams play again was sloppy and they were slowly but surely losing their hold on the possession. Due to the heat the ref ordered a quick drinks break with about 20 minutes left which both teams looked like they desperately needed. It would appear as though that drinks break is exactly what Pelham needed and they finally got hold of the ball a little bit more. Their goal lead was restored again not long after as some good work down the right hand side from the ever busy Sam Carter saw him cut the ball back to the penalty spot with Liam Perry getting on the end of it and stroking the ball inch perfectly along the ground into the bottom right hand corner. The home side had further chances to extend their lead as Dan Boyce had what looked to be a stone wall penalty appeal turned away, and Dan Arran had a goal disallowed. The rest of the game was played out at a slower pace and Pelham ended the game victorious as 2-1 winners, probably deservedly so with the home side creating the better moves and having the better/more of the chances, unlucky not to win by one or two more. Once again with only a bare 11 everyone played their part again this week and no one on the pitch had a bad game. Man of the match was a close call and with two good finishes from Mark Hainsby and Liam Perry putting them in for a shout, some good work again from Sam Carter putting him a very close second, but both myself and Mick went for the same man and with his first game back Gavin Brace put himself about well, linking with everyone and always came out on top in every 50/50 challenge he went in for. 2 out of 2 and now onto the next one with Westbury Wanderers waiting for us next week. Here's hoping to more than just a bare 11. no. that
