With Jack, Rob and Chiv all unavailable, we decided to start with Foxy at left back and push Wraggy into midfield. We knew that Walesby were a good side and we needed to be at our best to have a chance of taking anything from this game. We actually got off to a good start, Simon broke through into the box beat the keeper but a defender raced in to clear the danger. Zac swung the corner in and it hit a couple of defenders and ended up in the net. From the restart Walesby got behind us and a shot beat Adam and Elliot headed off the line, the clearance hit Ryan and Walesby were level. Two minutes gone and an own goal each. Walesby started to move the ball quickly and grabbed 2 more goals before the game was 10 minutes old. Our defence were caught cold both times although the 2nd looked offside. We moved Wraggy back, Elliot to left back, Ryan to right back and Foxy to midfield. Things didn’t improve much with another 2 goals conceded before the players had settled into their changed positions. Ollie went on for Cory, with Raffy moving from left to right wing and Zac up front. Sam was then moved to right back and Ryan back to the centre and another goal went in on 24 minutes. So 6-1 down and we finally get a bit of cohesion that prevented any further score in the first half.
Moo went back on at half time for Simon. The half time talk was basically keep your heads up and lets win this half. We actually started to create a chance or two and were looking better defensively. Graney had settled into right back and was playing well. Elliot was looking good on the left. But through the centre we were still getting caught. When Walesby got their 7th goal it was a little against the run of play. We had been pushing to score and they made a break through the middle with Ryan upfield and struggling to get back. Ryan’s nightmare continued when he was booked for a very late tackle on the right touchline. With 10 minutes left Walesby scored again with a well worked goal and Adam had no chance with the shot. Two errors from Wraggy, over-playing when a clearance would have been better took us to full-time. A 10-1 battering!
After the game Ryan told us he had stiffness and muscle pain in his back and Wraggy was still struggling with his thigh strain which meant he couldn’t hit the ball hard (hence the over-playing). All in all, the worst performance of the season. Best of a poor bunch and Man of the Match was Elliot, who looked very surprised. But the reaction from the parents showed they agreed with that decision at least. A game to forget.
