Match Report by Matt Court
I didn't need to open the curtains Sunday morning to know what type of game we had in store. The rain was battering against the windows and slowly but surely the text messages came through asking if the game would be on. Captain fantastic CK first, then Ryan, some boys are just itching for a Sunday morning lie in!! Those of us with kids had already read 14 books, watched an hour of cbeebies and are itching to get away from the wife and the mayhem!
However, a strong 14 were assembled, all on time (Paul G as ever you are excluded from this statement!), ready to embrace the elements. The decision was made to play with the wind and rain first half, which appeared to be the right one and from the first 5 minutes it was evident this would be to our advantage. Not before we had given away a penalty from practically Butler Benfica's first move. Dick appears to have been taking 'tackling in the box lessons' from the absent Leigh Godfrey. Luckily, it was put wide, and the early scare was diminished. Fresh from his wonder free kick last week, Pete took the early initiative and advantageous wind, to have a go whenever possible, but their keeper made some good parried saves. It wasn't long before Plumtree's early pressure paid off gaining a corner 10 minutes in. Pete stepped up to take it and simply put it in the back of the net, 1-0.
Plumtree's pressure continued and the best move of the day saw Paul T and Jonny combining on the right wing, Jonny putting a lovely cross in to be headed just over by Paul. It was Chris K trying his luck next latching onto to 30 yard shot, very Peter Oates esque i.e. like a thunderbolt, only for the keeper to once again make a good save. About 25 minutes in Plumtree were awarded a free kick on the right wing and only one man stepped up to take it. Yes you've guessed it, Peter O, and it seems at the moment that all he has to do is put it on target and it's in, and once again it was, top corner, 2-0.
At half time we knew it was going to be tough and although the team were completely drenched, spirits were still high, or was just the smell of Roscoe's breath??!! The less said about the second half the better. Basically, the wind now being their advantage brought Benfica into the game a lot more. However, one good goal and two deflected goals helped seal their win, along with Plumtree not creating enough chances to put the game to bed.
One thing that was noticeable from the sideline is the lack of composure and passing we had throughout the game. If there were more than a few occasions where we put more than 3 passes together without giving back to the other team, I'd be surprised. Something for us all to think about and work on for this weekend.
Man of the match I think should go to Simon Atherton. A strong performance in midfield in difficult conditions, and he always looking to get the ball down and play a 10 yard ball to bring people into the game
