It was one of those days. With about 8 players out injured and 6 players busy shopping or cleaning, the fight to fill a match day squad was on. Luckily, we could count on our very dependable Second team who are always more than happy to contribute players to the greater cause.
And so we welcomed into the squad Vinny Jones, Tom Westpfel and Kieran's father/Frow legend, Mark Jackson. With what at first looked like a bare 11, we were boosted by the news that Garcia would sit on the bench with a wooden leg. AFC Willingdon came to town in good form, sitting pretty in second and off the back of handing out a few thrashings. From our games in the past, we knew this would be difficult and that we'd need to be at our best with a little bit of luck, to get something from this game.
However, when up against the odds, Frow seem to find some special formula to prove all doubters wrong. With only 7 regular first teamers fit and available, this was one of those moments.
Big Ron decided to go with 5 in the midfield to ensure the battle was won. We were true to our word and worked extremely hard on all first and second balls, putting in a real shift. That said, we did ride our luck slightly, with Willingdon having a number of opportunies to break the deadlock. Stevens made a couple of excellent saves though, and the back 4 looked as assured as recent weeks.
We were satisfied to go in level at the break, but knew we'd have to do the same and more in the second. Thus we looked a little more dangerous and relaxed on the ball, allowing for some fluid play that eventually brought a freekick in Diego territory. Situated to the left hand side of the box, this was perfect range. As big (very big) George Holah stepped up, there was only one place it was going. It was curled into the very top left hand corner for Diego's third freekick goal of the season.
Big Ron was ecstatic, claiming "You just knew it. From the moment it left his bloody foot. The moment!" God bless that man...
The whole team then rallied and were phenomenal for the rest of the second half. Looking dangerous on the counter, it was Frow's work off the ball, concentration and application that was really impressive. Gil Williams was a close second to man of the match, Smithy dominated, and Kieran's old man rolled back the years enough to give Eggy some sleepless nights. The midfield three were relentless in their workrate, and we used the ball well on the wings. Duckworth ran his bollocks off as usual (with his bollocks usually offside).
Credit to Willingdon who continued to press and throw everything at it. To take 4 points off them this season is a decent achievement considering some of our results against them in the past, and their position in the table. They also enjoyed Robbie's charcoal sausages and seasoned chips afterwards, as we bid them farewell on the long poke back down Eastbourne way.
In the post match de-brief, it came to our attention that some players were irked by their match ratings. With an extremely clever mathematical calculation in place, I'm afraid they'll have to deal with it. Bean and Dawes in particular seem to think they deserve a 0.5 just for breathing. Get scoring or assisting please gents and you'll see your statistics soar...
Until then, we now have a break until 2nd Jan, where we face our good friends Dormansland Rockets. See you in the woods.
