The 4s reign as AFA Minor Cup holders ended abruptly up in North London when they were unceremoniously dumped out of the Cup by a limited Broomfield team. As the final whistle blew the sense of frustration was hugely evident as we trudged off the pitch wandering what might have been.
2-0 down with 15 minutes to go the 4s rallied to equalise through quickfire goals from Damien and Matt only to see Broomfield score within 30 seconds of the restart and finish it off late on to win the game 4-2.
Playing on a small pitch with long grass was not ideal but Meads started the game by far the stronger. Although not playing to their best they had all the ball and limited the opposition to a free kick as their only shot on goal in the first half. Unfortunately the only chances that they created were half chances and those chances were not put away. If Meads had scored, I think that I would be sitting here writing a very different match report.
The 1st half was played out near enough completely in Broomfield territory apart from the odd break. Damien shot wide after being squared the ball after a Meads breakaway and went closer after a rasping freekick went narrowly past the top corner. Any chances that were being created were nothing but half chances; Neil climbed well but saw his header glance wide and then saw a nicely struck shot miss the target.
As Manchester United found out at the weekend, you need to kill off teams when you get the chance otherwise there is always the chance of getting caught out. This was to be the case at the beginning of the second half when Sam misjudged a bounce that stayed low and their striker pounced to finish nicely. This striker, who came on early in the 2nd half was alarmingly better than the rest of his teammates (definite ringer!), and although Meads cannot blame his inclusion for their loss, he was undoubtedly instrumental in all of their good play.
A 2nd goal came shortly after when a short corner was whipped to the back post and 2 Broomfield players competed with Matt for the ball, there was only one winner and the header flew past Jake into the net, 2-0.
Meads were already frustrated at their performance but the 2 goals led to a deterioration in our teamwork and heads had dropped. This was a surprise considering recent battling performances but it shows that we must go into every game with the same attitude and also a beleif in our ability to overcome opposition even when things are not going our way, we cannot let our heads drop, the game can always be retrieved.
Despite the game seemingly drifting away Meads were back level, and then behind again in 2 breathtaking minutes. First, Joe, a 2nd half sub for Ash, centred the ball and Damo rose to head home past the keeper to make it 2-1. Moments later Joe passed to Matt on the edge of the box and his low shot somehow evaded the keepers grasp and Meads were back level. As Meads thought about going onto win the game Broomfield were already back in front; Meads lost possession in oppos half and Broomfield broke to devestating effect. Their striker held off all oncomers to square the ball to his strike partner to finish off the underside of the bar. Broomfield sealed the deal when a shot that came back off the post fell perfectly for a tap in. 4-2 and out.
Not a good day for the 4s, on a day when things started so optimisticly, we finished heading home in a traffic jam on the north circular to think about what may have been. Lessons need to be learnt from the game and we need to show our character more than ever next week to bounce back from this disappointment and make strides in the league.
MOM went to Kev for a typically committed performance in the middle. He continues to plug away even when things are going wrong and alongside Andy was one of few highlights to come out of the game.
