A lovely sunny lunchtime at Hampton for the visit of Coleshill and the pitch was looking immaculate.
JP and Josh P missing today so we were a bit light on defenders, but luckily we have some real team players who will slot in and do a job when asked, with captain Ollie slotting in at CB and Fin slotting in on the right side of defence.
When the ref blew his whistle to start the game, I turned away from the pitch for what must have been 5 seconds, and when I turned back around the boys were coming back to kick off again… I thought something was wrong but actually we had scored! Totally missed it (and so did Karim with the video camera !) but I’m told Coleshill kicked off, Omar charged them down and got through on goal where he lifted it over the keeper. 1-0 and what a start!
A few minutes later it was 2-0, a lovely ball from Fin put Rushy in and he made no mistake, slotting past the keeper.
Hampton were dominating all over the pitch, winning tackles and playing some nice football, epitomised by our captain who really did stand up and put a shift in at CB in the first half, notably winning the ball 3 times in a matter of seconds, with the 3rd tackle an absolute monster which was full of desire and set us on another attack. We really looked dangerous on the attack with the pace we have, but we couldn’t find that 3rd goal despite some decent opportunities for Oscar and Ollie off a corner.
The 3rd would soon come, when jack picked up the ball 25 yards out and with options to pass, decided to unleash a rocket which had the keeper stranded and hit the roof of the net.
Coleshill still had plenty of fight and have some good players, which showed when the striker found himself 1v1 but our brick wall Harrison came out on top when he tipped it round the post!
Half time, 3-0.
If there was any danger of a comeback, the reds would notch another 4 goals in the opening 10 minutes. First it was Rushy, poaching a loose ball inside the box and lashing home. Then some great work from Jack to pull the ball back to Harry who finished nicely with his left foot. Some great work from Fin down the right when he drove into the box but was knocked off balance by the defender… not enough for a pen but Rushy wasn’t hanging around to find out and latched on to the loose ball and slotted home for his 3rd hatrick and 24th goal of a remarkable season. Number 7 then came from Rushy playing across to Omar who slotted home for his 5th goal in 5 games since joining us.
Still 20 minutes to play and honestly we probably could’ve kept pushing, but days like this are opportunities to move players around, ensure we get some much-deserved minutes into the legs of some players who didn’t get as much time as they would have liked in the 2 very tough and very tight games before this one. So Rushy and Omar now found themselves in defence alongside our “utility man” Josh M who now boasts the most positions played for us this season, slotting in at CB ! Fair play to Josh, he’s a terrific team player full of guts and desire, yet calm on the ball and more often than not makes the right decisions when he’s on the ball, a valuable member of the Reds!
There were a few more chances for either side with Harrison pulling off a smart save and at the other end we had jack driving into the box but his left foot didn’t connect too well and the keeper saved comfortably, and Zach S pulling the trigger a couple of times but being blocked on both occasions. Omar tried his best to burst forward and grab his hatrick but couldn’t manage the finish.
Coleshill would get a deserved goal with some neat footwork from the striker and a decent finish but it was merely a consolation.
Our biggest win of the season (so far) 7-1.
Some outstanding performances today from back to front, Ollie in the first half was colossal, with Kielan and Fin doing brilliantly also. Oscar, Josh M, Harry, Zach S, Harrison, Omar & Zak D all with valuable contributions in the match and Rushy with another hatrick and assist to bolster his impressive season stats… but todays MOTM had to be Jack. Today he had the pace, the flair and the finish… if I’m being critical he should’ve had at least one more goal himself but his overall contribution to the game was outstanding and allowed us to flourish in other areas of the pitch too. Well done Jack..!
UTR ??
