At 8:30am the rain was falling in a biblical way and texts were coming in from everywhere to see if the game was still going ahead. With a squad of 12 and then with 2 cancellations taking us to 10 players the manager had everything crossed that the game would be postponed. On arrival the rain had stopped and the pitch looked to be in great condition and it became clear, GAME ON. As the players rocked up to the venue another hurdle became clear as there was only 9 players here for kick off. We got together and agreed that we will give this our everything and not let the numbers give us an excuse. Straight from the kick off the team put the opposition on the back foot and made 2 great chances in the first 5 mins and it was clear that despite everything going against us we wanted this and it looked like we had 15 players on the field. After 10 mins the breakthrough came as George got on the end of a defence splitting ball and went straight for goal, as the keeper came out he cooly bent it round the keeper and into the net. 1-0 We continued to dominate the play but our shape was still sorting itself out when an old Woolton player Lucas was played in through our defence and he took the ball with time and placed it in the far corner 1-1. In the past at this stage we would have seen the Woolton boys drop off the pace and let their heads go down but not today. A quick response from Jack W as the ball was played through by Uday who had already shown his class in modfield, and Jack's pace was too much for their defence, he opened up his body and placed it into the far corner 2-1. The belief grew in the 9 players and with a solid performance for Toby and his back 4 of Jack T, Hayden, Aiden and Flynn they almost felt invincible. But they got a quick reminder to stay alert as once again Kingsthorne broke through the defence and their winger ran towards goal, Toby charged towards him and forced him to shoot early and the ball rolled past the far post for a Goalkick. Not long before half time we got a throw in down the right side and somehow the ball worked its way to Uday who had his back to goal but had already spotted the keeper out of position. Without looking he volleyed the ball over the keepers head and into the net for an absolutely amazing goal. The ref made a point of recognising the goal with a fist pump for Uday 3-1. Half time During the break we got together again to ensure we didn't let our energy levels drop and also to keep focused for the rest of the game. The 2 CM and CF had already covered a lot of ground and still had a tall task to finish off. The second half continued just as the first did and the energy was unbelievable, it didn't take too long before Jack W added to his tally by chipping the ball over the keeper to make it 4-1 after George squared the ball over after some good work down the left. The icing was on the cake for Jack W when he completed his hatrick with another solid left foot strike to make it 5-1. With still 15 minutes to go the energy was draining out of the team but the desire did not as the back 4 started to enjoy their task and Hayden seeing the midfield and attack tiring began to break out with the ball to give them a much needed rest. Another example was seeing a rare Oscar slide tackle after tracking back 30yrds, blocking off the player and getting the ball out for a throw in. These points in the game really lifted the team as they saw out the game forcing Kingsthorne to take shots from distance which caused a save from Toby and another hitting the cross bar. Full Time 5-1 The team completed the unthinkable and overcame whatever was put in their way. Could have had 9 POTM but that's not how it works so Uday got the award. One of our best displays as a team and a spirit we need to draw on for the rest of the season ??????
