Meads 4s returned to league action on Saturday after two consecutive cup matches and they managed to keep their unbeaten record since the new year. This would however be tinged with disappointment after a 2-0 lead was allowed to slip away in the 2nd half.
The game was played in blustery conditions down in Kempton but the pitch allowed for some decent football to be played. Meads started the game slightly on the back foot with Vaughanians dominating territory in the early stages. Their threat was fairly blunt though and Sam and Jonathan were comfrotable at the back, dealing with all that came at them. Andy and Fran as the fullbacks were also dealing well with any threat provided down the flanks. Unfortunately Meads were to lose Andy to injury early on in the game, jarring his back when making a good sliding challenge. He was replaced by Sam, a late addition after some more late cry offs.
Meads began to find thier footing in the game after the first 10/15 minutes and started playing by far the better and more incisive football. Lister and Ronnie were finding spaces to exploit and were getting joy in and around the Vaughanians box. Jonathan, looking to carry on his inexplicable scoring form, nearly broke the deadlock with a nice swivelled volley that hit the side netting from a tight angle.
Meads continued to dominate and were rewarded with a goal when Kev played a nice ball over the top and Ronnie latched on to it to finish nicely past the keeper to make it 1-0.
Vaughanians were by no means a blunt force and had chances of thier own, but those chances were restricted to the edge of the box as Meads defence shut down any attempts to progress further. One shot ricocheted off the outside of the post, and a corner was well tipped over the bar by Jake when the swirling winds threatened to blow it straight in.
A further spell of pressure by Meads was rewarded with the 2nd goal when Ronnie scored an excellent solo goal. Fran, playing from left back, fed the ball into Ronnie just inside the box and he flicked it up and volleyed it (henry vs man u style) and the ball flew over the keeper and into the far corner. 2-0 and in control. Half time came not too long after.
The 2nd half began much the same way as the 1st half did but this time Meads didnt wake from their slumber and they allowed Vaughanians to dominate. Possession was too easily given away and, a trait that was familiar in the first half, the ball was played long too quickly, not allowing any support to get close enough to Lister and Ronnie. Both Neil and Kev were having to do a lot of work and were getting overrun in the middle, with Vaughanians' wingers tucking in on many occassions. In possession they were rarely receiving the ball from the back 4 or wide players, often having to feed off scraps from the forwards. This played into Vaughanians hands as they were able to get the ball back easily and build pressure.
Rather than take the sting out of the game, Meads continued to play at a frantic pace and hit the front men at every opportunity and Meads were to be penalised about 15 minutes into the 2nd half when, after a couple of corners in a row, a back post header was nodded back to the centre for an easy tap in from a yard. The pressure continued, much from Meads' own doing, and they equalised minutes later when a nice cross from deep bounced between defence and keeper and was headed back across goal to give Jake no chance.
Back to square 1 but Meads did not allow the game to get away from them and actually had some half chances to take all three points. Some nice crosses from the right from Sam were proving a threat but unfortunately for Meads none were converted. The game continued at its frantic pace but neither team could find the elusive winner and a draw was probably a fair result, with each team dominating a half.
MOM went to Ronnie for his brace and a well taken one at that. He was complaining pre match that he never gets MOM but he became the first player to secure a whitewash in the votes with his performance on Saturday. Next week is a double header against a good side but Meads have shown a lot more cohesion this year and should be confident of taking a good points haul come Saturday.
