MEFF #36 - FRIENDLY 5-A-SIDE: RED TEAM 8 – 3 YELLOW TEAM:
Reduced numbers and tired legs forced MEFF #36 to be reclassified as a friendly, stringently overseen by Referee Pete Allaway(s), who endeavoured to keep the game flowing wherever possible. The first half was incredibly close, ending 2-2, with the Yellow Team dominating possession but becoming increasingly frustrated by Patto and then Ash in goal(s), who used their feet to great effect to stop numerous goal-bound shots. Kieran and SuBo put away well-placed finishes for the Yellows as they tricked their way through the Reds defence, while Griff and Fletch both put swept home smart shots beyond Steels for the Reds after latching on to passes from Ash.
The second half scoreline made the game look massively one-sided, but in truth the Yellows continued to see the majority of possession but were frequently thwarted in the final third, while the Reds were ruthless on the counter-attack, with Ash picking up 6 assists in total in one of his best performances as he supported Patto (1), Luke (2) and Fletch (2 to complete his hat-trick) to add to the score, before shooting a long range effort of his own later on. The impressive Kierandispatched a left-footed bullet beyond Phil to give Yellows hope, while Griff kept a clean sheet in goal during his stint, stopping efforts from Neil, Crozier and Spence. At the other end Steels stopped one strike from Patto with his balls. Despite Neil, SuBo, Kieran and Griff all hitting the posts more than once, the misses of the day went to Patto (who stumbled over a tap-in from Luke) and Spence (who managed to slide over an easy finish from SuBo)!
