After the previous weeks slack win this was all together a much better performance. It was noticeable that most of the players turned up on time and that commitment produce a great performance.
We were dominant in all facets of the game and even coped seamlessly when Bigga was replaced at half time due to injury. Obi replaced him in goal with the returning Jason Greene going up front.
This was the best consistent passing performance I have witnessed by a Clarendon side in a very long time. We took on the pass first mentality and it paid dividends. Everyone contributed in what was a very positive start culminating in a fantastic movement, finished coolly by Ashley.
However, it would not be us if we did not concede a very avoidable goal. This was an error-ridden concession from the sloppy way we lost possession of the ball under little pressure to the simple ball over the top of our defence that we failed to deal with. The only thing missing was a mistake by Bigga (which did not happen because the striker did not give him a chance with a classy finish).
After we got over the initial shock of giving a goal away, we continued on a path of domination. For the second consecutive week, Pablo dispatched a hat trick, although he would admit with better finishing he could, and should, have had double the amount.
The final goal was another stunning team goal made and finished by the Greene Brothers. Jason crossed for Steve to head in.
I was happy with the performance of all the players. Bigga/Obi had very little to do but they did it very well without fuss.
Apart from the careless concession of the goal, (not wholly their fault) the defence was largely untroubled and started many of the high quality passing movements we produced.
I would like to give a special mention to the four midfielders Luke, Moses, Leon and Ashley. All four made a conscious decision to get the ball down and pass it. Moses seemed to win every tackle he went in for and Leon appeared to be on hand to pick up the loose ball and get us going on the front foot. Luke and Ashley always appeared to be on hand to receive the first pass and invariably did something positive with the ball.
Pablo and Obi/Jason were a threat throughout the game with their direct running and combination play. The opposition found it hard to contain us, as we appeared to produce devastating attack after attack. Their man of the match was their keeper and that says a lot about our attacking prowess but also our lack of a killer instinct. By my reckoning that is the second week where we should have scored twice as many goals as we scored.
I am not being harsh but goal difference could be an issue this season and we are not being ruthless enough in front of goal. This is not just aimed at the strikers because I believe we have goal threats all over the pitch and everyone needs to take on that responsibility, just as everyone has to take on the responsibility to defend our goal.
This was not a perfect performance but we have shown that we know how to play this game. If we maintain this attitude, turn up on time, warm up properly, pass first mentality, listen to instructions, no arguing (with ref or each other) and match the oppositions work rate we will win more games than we lose.
