After 3 consecutive draws with Hamsey we went into this game confident we could get at least a point out of it and ended up blowing them out of the water. We made a couple of changes due to injury among other things and we also saw the return of Matt Lewis and Chris Wigley from injury and Danny made his debut on the wing. The first 10 minutes were a quiet affair with both sides back lines able to deal with any threat until Reigate started to win a few corners. This led to our first goal with the keeper spilling the ball and it dropped to Matt Lewis who'd come up from the back for the corner and he lashed it in off the bar. This set the tone and really unsettled Hamsey whose defence started to look a bit ropey. Everybody's hero Jon Gillett made a name for himself having to battle for a place in the team and showed why he has become a much loved man at the Heath by providing 2 goals in the space of 10 minutes. The first was a great ball across the box from Wigley on the left and Gillett couldn't miss in front of an open goal and preceded to follow the ball into the goal! He scored the 3rd when Alex Smith found the danger man in the box again and his shot took a deflection which rolled past the keeper and in. By this point it was looking settled but we added a 4th 10 minutes before half time when Chris Wigley found Alex Smith in the box who finished with ease and then we saw out the rest of the half.
Hamsey looked fired up after that poor performance and the words from Reigate at half time we're to keep the ship steady. What Hamsey didn't expect was that same ship to steam through their back line and score 30 seconds after the restart after Woodman found Wigley on to Danny who played it across the face for Smith to tap in for his 2nd. The 6th came about 10 minutes later when Wigley and Danny played the ball between them and Danny slotted home to earn a well deserved goal on debut. We dominated the rest of the half defensively as we stepped off the gas and allowed them only the one opportunity which Damo saw off comfortably. Then about 10 minutes before the end Alex delivered a corner which ended up coming back to him and a superb bit of skill allowed him to play in Tulley who poked it into the corner for the 7th. We then saw the game out and earned a well deserved 7-0 win.
It was a long time coming this result and one as a club we desperately needed. It was a tactically organised masterclass from Reigate and not one person put in any silly mistakes and if there were mistakes people were able to cover. Damo didn't have much to do in goal but did everything asked of him when called upon. Driver had the captains armband in the absence of Rob Wigley but we had 4 leaders at the back today with all 4 defenders making their voice heard and not only that but covering for their team mates at every occasion which led to the clean sheet we deserved. Paul O'Keeffe would certainly be my unsung hero of the day, his defensive work nullified anything their wingers had to offer and also offered plenty going forward in what I would say was one of his best performances for the club. This also allowed Danny free reign down the right wing as he terrorised the Hamsey defence and was very impressive on debut. The centre mids were though one of the main reasons for winning that game, both of them were absolutely everywhere on the pitch and didn't lose a single battle either in the air or on the ground and communicated well with the rest of the team to ensure there were no gaps between them and the defence or attack in whatever situation was called upon. Tulley grabbed a goal but Alex Smith was awesome picking up 2 goals and 2 assists. It was also great to have the gaffer back on the pitch who chipped in with a hat trick of assists and showed how much he's been missed but then what can you say about that man Gillett, if he scores we win and he turned in his best performance of the season as well on Sunday. Mentions must be made to Harrison and George who came of the bench and played up to the same level as everyone else and were a vital part in us keeping a clean sheet in the last 25 minutes.
Managers Comments -
Well, what a Sunday it has been!! But by far the best football I saw played today was played at the John Fisher Sports Ground.
That 7-0 did not even do our performance justice because I felt we should of deserved more with the way we played. This was even with a last minute change to the formation, Damien Hutchinson was unselfish in offering to go in goal and his performance set the tone from the back.
The back four have never worked so well and deserved the clean sheet we kept, to which along with the midfield shows if we help each other out how simple are lives can be made.
Jon Gillett took his chance today and deserved his two goals.
These performances need to continue, lets not let this be a one off! So it is equally important to all be at training Tuesday, also there is Monday night football at Warwick school 8-9 which a few of have been going to and seems to be working positively. Man of the match was a hard one today! But today Matt Lewis gets my vote, leading the defence from the back and grabbing a goal which started the scoring, he hasn't played for several weeks but on today's performance he showed us how much we missed him.
Bet everyone can take credit for today performance because without you today's result wouldn't of happened the drizzle is back!! Well lemon cake until Jon Gillett can find us some real drizzle! Let this kick off our season and lets get on a run and finish the season strong!!
