CSK Wanderers continued their winning form into the new season with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Last Orders FC. Stuart Savidge was the star performer scoring the opener, and assisting as well as defending strongly.
A cold night saw Aaron Walsh's return to action, as well as Tom Powell's inclusion in an injury and absence hit squad. The first half was a drab affair with neither side showing much attacking threat and both defences preventing opportunities for their opponents. Steve Winter was dependable when called upon, but had very little to do all evening, thanks to a solid defence. The only real chance came after neat interchange between David Jones and Tom Powell, allowing the former to volley goalwards, only to see the effort go inches wide of the post. The half time came as welcome relief to the neutral who could have been forgiven for turning the Sky Sports channel over.
The second half saw a slight improvement with CSK dominating possession and showing far more penetration with their passing. Stuart Savidge opened the scoring when he latched onto a perfectly timed Lewis Turpin through ball. Savidge's first strike was blocked by the keeper before the tough tackling defender showed good composure to tap home the rebound. The goal settled the Wanderers who then started to combine neatly. David Jones, Tom Powell, and Aaron Walsh all had efforts saved by the keeper before Powell struck to make it 2-0. A long ball by Stuart Savidge caused havoc in Last Orders ranks, as the keeper came out and missed his chance to head the ball clear. The ball consequently fell to Powell who swivled and stuck the ball home with his left foot. Aaron Walsh rapped up the scoring moments later when he ran onto David Jones pass and unleashed a powerful drive past the keeper. CSK fans were happy at the whistle, and despite a less than entertaining performance, the Wanderers had claimed three points as they look to retain the title.
Steve Winter played down the significance of Aaron Walsh's inclusion and the combination of that and Dan Jacques' absence when he spoke with Sky Sports News after the game, "We have said time and again that there are no problems so why do you keep asking the same stupid questions? If Dan had played Aaron would have also, they are mates, but Dan was unable to play so they didn't play together but we have certainly not been seperating them. As for the game in case you forgot about that, I thought we did a good job, it was efficient. Perhaps not pretty but we got the win and that was important. I thought Stu was fantastic tonight, helped us going forward and also protected us well in defence." Man of the match Stuart Savidge was happy to get on the scoresheet and be part of an opening game win, "It was good for us to win on the opening day of the new season, and it's always nice to score so for me it has been a great game. We did our job well as a team and even though we weren't at our best we got the job done and that is the mark of a good team." CSK will be hoping to keep their winning run going when they play Shouty and the Ironhearts next week.
